Successors

This is just more Picard showing he's a diplomat at heart. He's probably telling himself 'A previous Enterprise captain no doubt would have jumped in and taken sides here, but nowadays that kind of behavior often causes serious problems that may take years or even decades to fix. No Kirk, phasers do not solve all of one's problems, especially this age. If you want to aid somebody, you find other means first and save fighting their wars for them as the last resort when you've got nothing left.'