Fortress Democracy
June 10, 2024
The 80th anniversary of D-Day in Normandy marked a shift in the world order. Russia was snubbed and Putin labelled “a tyrant”. Ukraine was front and center, and America and France, the birth places of modern democracy, enhanced their bilateral alliance and embarked on a flurry of meetings with European and other world leaders in order to bury Moscow. President Joe Biden publicly apologized to Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky for Congressional delays in sending military aid to Kyiv this year. And President Emmanuel Macron pledged a fast-track European Union membership for Ukraine as well as jets, training, and deployment of non-combat military advisors from several NATO countries. In coming weeks, the two will meet leaders to reconstitute the geopolitical landscape: The G7 summit on June 11-13 may approve the seizure of Russia’s US$280 billion in frozen assets, and the NATO summit on July 9-11 may approve a security guarantee for Ukraine. Both precedents are essential to insure a safer world.
