In my last editorial I explored a matter of international interest and concern, that of the departure of Queen Elizabeth II and the ascension of King Charles III to the throne of the UK, also the threat of possible disintegration of the Commonwealth and the United Kingdom itself. The world is keenly observing, given the global political and economic implications of such instances.
The global arena has also been witnessing serious developments on the Russia Ukraine War front; the world today holds its breath awaiting the moves of the battling parties to regain control over the fate of the war and to achieve their goals. We have seen the Russian military operation in Ukraine take a new turn when the Ukrainian army defeated the Russian troops and recaptured 8000 sq.km of territory that had been held by the Russians. This marked a victory for Ukrainians versus a defeat for Russians, at least temporarily. Russia responded by declaring partial military mobilisation, calling in some 300,000 reservists in preparation for counteroffensives against Ukraine in order to regain control over the war and push back Ukrainian troops. Russia threatened to resort to nuclear arm if needs be.
It is no secret that the ongoing war is not about Russia and Ukraine; it embodies the height of confrontation in the conflict between the US and its European allies on one side, and Russia and China on the other, on who possesses power and hegemony over the world. This conflict has revealed the ugly face of the US which, in order to retain its singlehanded world superpower status and to give no chance to multi polarism, had no qualms provoking Russia and dragging it into this war. In the process, the US pushed Ukraine to fight this war by proxy; Ukraine offered its people, land and resources on the altar of this war, in exchange for American and European financial and military aid. So much so, that the war turned into an open battle between the western military arsenal and economic power on one side, and their Russian Chinese counterparts. More importantly, the war has become for Russia a war of dignity and power; Russian President Vladimir Putin said Russia would never accept humiliation.
At the outset of the Russia Ukraine War last February, the Russian President addressed the Russian people with his famous speech which I reviewed in detail in March 2022 under the title “What Putin says on the Russia-Ukraine crisis”.
On 21 September Putin gave another ‘fiery’ speech in the wake of the Ukrainian victories and the announcement of public referenda in Donetsk and Lugansk, also in Zaporizhzhia and Kherson, to restore their historical affiliation to Russia. News of the referenda were met by opposition from the West. So what did Putin say in his second speech?
In 1991, Ukrainian leaders said that they managed to split the Soviet Union; now, relying on the offensive infrastructure NATO had set up close to Russia’s borders, they say they would split up Russia itself. Yet these long years witnessed communications and negotiations that aimed at reaching a peaceful resolution to tensions between the two countries, through what was termed the Minsk Agreements under the auspices of the Normandy Format which included leaders of Germany, France, Russia and former Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko, in 2015. Successive Ukrainian regimes refused to honour these agreements, which led to the recent war in Ukraine. Following the start of the special military operation [the war], Putin said, particularly after the Istanbul talks, Kyiv representatives voiced quite a positive response to our proposals which concerned above all ensuring Russia’s security and interests. But a peaceful settlement obviously did not suit the West, which is why, after certain compromises were coordinated, Kyiv was ordered to wreck all these agreements, President Putin said.
Accordingly, the Ukrainian President hastened to announce his rejection to abide by the decisions reached. Ukraine thus turned to an escalation path relying on American-European aid and mercenaries trained according to NATO standards and receiving orders from Western advisers, Putin said. Washington, London and Brussels are openly encouraging Kyiv to move the hostilities to our territory, the Russian President said. They openly say that Russia must be defeated on the battlefield by any means. They have even resorted to the nuclear blackmail. I am referring not only to the Western-encouraged shelling of the Zaporozhye Nuclear Power Plant, which poses a threat of a nuclear disaster, Putin said, but also to the statements made by high-ranking representatives of the leading NATO countries on the possibility and admissibility of using weapons of mass destruction against Russia.
Hostile policies of western countries against Russia have crossed all red lines under the pretext of an announced objective which is settling the conflict on the battlefield and not around the negotiation table through political and diplomatic means. Authorities in the West, Putin said, do not stop talking about plans to organise the delivery of long-range offensive weapons to Ukraine, and NATO is conducting reconnaissance in Russia’s southern regions in real time and with the use of modern systems, aircraft, vessels, satellites and strategic drones.
According to the Russian President, since 1997 Russia has been calling the West to stop NATO eastern expansion. He said that he warned during the European Security Conference in Munich, in February 2007, against the consequences of the adherence of the US and its allies to a unipolar world order, stressing the need to move towards a multi polar order. “Since then, I have been very patient and careful,” Putin said, “and I waited for eight years for the implementation of the Minsk agreements and the amendments made by German President Steinmeier, without any response from the Ukrainian authorities in Kyiv. But it seems that the West is determined to overthrow Russia and the Putin regime, and what must follow from the disintegration of Russia, like what happened with the old Soviet Union.” In fact, President Putin said, there can be no better evidence [to western belligerence] than President Biden’s declaration: “This man [Putin] must go”.
As I see it, all indicators point to the insistence of the US and European countries to crush Russia and humble it. There seems to be no room left for a dignified margin for peaceful settlement around the negotiation table. On the other hand, Russia stands with its historic and civilisational weight behind it, absolutely against trifling with its dignity, and determined to resort to its weapons one and all to defend itself. One wonders what the coming days hold in store for us.
Watani International
30 September 2022