Viewed from Moscow NATO and the EU scarcely present an alarming united front. The President of France is breaking ranks as ever, staging a visit to Russia today as though he is De Gaulle making one of his grand unilateralist gestures of futility. The Americans under President Biden’s less than courageous leadership in core matters like Iran’s bid for nuclear weapons want to go it alone negotiating with Russia only the limited issue of Ukraine (which the Russians are not interested in doing). Britain, with a lame duck Prime Minister under police investigation, hits threatening notes but does not appear to be anywhere near the Konzertmeister of the orchestra. And Germany, run by naive novices and completely unsure of itself, has been avoiding anything that looks like firm resistance to Russia.

Perhaps appropriately the chief energy editor of Nezavisimaya gazeta Nikiforov today points out that Die Zeit has been very critical of the Social Democratic Chancellor, Scholz, for doing nothing in reaction to Russian threats to Ukraine and that in response he has hastily prepared a trip to Washington DC. At the same time, concerned at his fading image within France as elections draw near and under critical scrutiny from Le Monde, President Macron, in the words of Vzglyad.ru, wants to visit Russia, have a chat with appropriate reassurances, then go to Ukraine and declare victory “out of thin air.”

It is all enough to make one squirm with embarrassment. Is it too much to hope for that Western leaders read what Moscow says about them? We might then have a strong incentive to at least appear to act as one.