THOMAS FAZI—The EU claims to be protecting citizens from “falsehoods” but on what democratic or moral basis does the Commission assume the authority to decide what is true, especially when it is clear that the EU’s political-media establishment itself engages in disinformation and propaganda on a regular basis?
THOMAS FAZI—Before the invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Russia was the EU’s largest supplier of oil and natural gas. Since then, Russia’s share of EU oil imports has dropped from 29% to 2%, and that of gas from 48% to 12%. Yet imports have not ceased entirely. Two pipelines remain operational: the Druzhba pipeline, which still delivers oil to Hungary and Slovakia, and the TurkStream pipeline, which supplies gas to Bulgaria, Hungary, Greece and Romania. Meanwhile, the EU has rushed to replace Russian pipeline gas with much more expensive and volatile LNG, whose share of total EU gas imports has more than doubled from 20% to 50%. Nearly half of this LNG now comes from the United States, making Europe the most important market for US LNG exports.
THOMAS FAZI—From Moscow’s perspective, the war has never been solely about Ukraine. Russia’s demands include a new European security architecture, limits on NATO expansion and recognition of a multipolar world order — one in which Western dominance gives way to a new global architecture based on indivisible security and sovereign equality.
T. FAZI—In fact, Trump himself boasted that Iran had been hit because it “didn’t respect” his ultimatum. While this could be mere face-saving bluster, it aligns with reports that the US helped mislead Iran prior to the assault. According to the Times of Israel, “the US participated in a massive campaign to lull Iran into thinking an attack was not going to happen immediately”.
If true, this points to active collusion — not mere complicity.
The remaining question is: who is setting the strategic agenda? Are American neoconservatives using Israel as the spearhead for their own long-standing plans to reshape the Middle East and eliminate the Iranian regime, and to what extent does Trump share these aims? Or is the Israel lobby driving US policy toward war — even, possibly, against Trump’s wishes?
THOMAS FAZI—It will be my first time in Russia, and I’m looking forward to doing some sightseeing, catching up with friends and enjoying some good old vodka and pickles. But of course, that’s not why I’m going. I chose to be in Moscow on this particular day because it matters. We are living through an extremely dark and dangerous period. Over the past three and a half years, European governments have systematically dismantled diplomatic, economic and cultural relations with Russia, all while waging a proxy war against the country — at Ukraine’s expense. Though many still fail to see it, Europe is at war — militarily, economically and culturally — with the world’s largest nuclear power. Western-supplied arms, intelligence and funding have contributed to the deaths of thousands of Russian soldiers.
