Sudan meltdown fuels Saharan instability

Carl Bildt, former prime minister of Sweden, shares his perspective on European politics from Stockholm.

Does Ukraine belong in NATO, as Secretary Jens Stoltenberg said when he visited Kyiv the other day?

Yup, that's certainly the case, the one way or the other. Although, I think there will be some difficulties forging a consensus on exactly what that means at the upcoming NATO summit in Vilnius in July. Some of the Central Europeans and the Ukrainians are pressing for full membership as soon as possible. Others, the US and others, are somewhat more reluctant and would like to have a step-by-step.

What are the implications of the meltdown in Sudan for Europe?

Well, evacuating diplomats, as has been done with success is one thing but it's hardly a solution. We have faced a period of prolonged instability in the third largest country of Africa. That sort of makes Europe worried about the entire belt of instability across the Sahara, along the Sahara even more profound, with also the risk of the Russians starting to meddle in there, as well.