March 2025.
As part of the program Regional Initiative for combating disinformation “Western Balkans Combatting disinformation Center: Exposing malicious influences through fact-checking and Analytical Journalism“, we present you a new analysis of fake news and disinformation narratives.
Euro-elite in Collision with Reality
https://srbin.info/pocetna/aktuelno/evro-elita-u-sudaru-sa-stvarnoscu/?lang=lat#
Since the beginning of 2025, the main topic in international relations has been the return of Donald Trump to the political stage and his promise that, if re-elected as President of the United States, he would resolve the conflict in Ukraine within 24 hours. Although it is clear that this ambitious promise was not fulfilled, negotiations have nonetheless begun. The first significant step towards ending the war took place on February 18, 2025, when a meeting was held in Riyadh, the capital of Saudi Arabia, with delegations from Russia and the United States in attendance. During this meeting, it was agreed to form teams that would work on negotiations aimed at ending the conflict in Ukraine.
What is striking is the fact that the parties involved in establishing the negotiations were not directly related to the conflict. Although the focus of the meeting was establishing peace in Ukraine, Ukrainian President Zelensky was not present at the aforementioned meeting. Zelensky later stated that negotiations should not be conducted “behind his back” and emphasized that the European Union should be included in talks concerning the end of the war in Ukraine.
The exclusion of the EU has sparked narratives suggesting a division within the West. On Sputnik, the dominant narratives highlighted how the European Union lacks the power and resources to assist Ukraine in the same way the United States has. Additionally, a key topic has been the formation of a European army that would be independent of the NATO alliance. These are legitimate concerns arising in an unstable geopolitical environment. However, in this context, numerous disinformation narratives have also emerged, claiming a supposed complete rift between the US and the EU, even suggesting a potential conflict between Russia and Europe—claims that were not supported by actual discussions.
An illustrative example is an article on the Srbin.info portal, which states that “all NATO members in Europe now publicly acknowledge they will not participate in securing Ukraine without the presence of American forces to support them.” However, the reality is somewhat different, as European leaders are actively negotiating to increase their military budget for Ukraine.
Furthermore, the question arises as to why the West is often viewed as a singular entity when it comes to making political decisions. It is assumed that the US and the EU cannot have the same foreign policy goals or interests. Among other things, the countries within the EU do not share the same interests, and despite being part of a unified community, they have maintained a certain level of sovereignty. Therefore, the supposed division of the West, often discussed in the media, does not reflect the actual situation, because the goal of the West is not necessarily a uniform foreign policy, but rather the pursuit of peace, which can certainly be achieved through various political strategies that can be adjusted and harmonized with one another.
Author: Nataša Stanojević
