The Sunday Mail
THE Russia-Ukraine conflict cannot be resolved through megaphone diplomacy, but requires sober minds and a realisation that Russia has legitimate security concerns centred around expansionist policies of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (Nato).
Moscow also has genuine fears that the United States of America and its allies in Europe have been amassing an arsenal of deadly weapons in their pliant State, Ukraine, which they might use in future against it. President Vladimir Putin and the people of Russia are therefore within their rights to demand the demilitarisation of Ukraine which at present poses a clear and present danger to their country’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.
As Zimbabwe, we identify with the concerns of Russia having been victims of Western sanctions for a long time.
Our abstention during a vote for a resolution of the United Nations General Assembly, which reprimanded Russia for launching a special military operation against Ukraine, should be understood in that context.
The resolution adopted on March 2 was supported by 141 of the assembly’s 193 members with Zimbabwe and more than 30 other countries abstaining. Five countries, including Russia, Syria and Belarus, voted against it.
The resolution deplores in the strongest terms the Russian Federation’s aggression against Ukraine in violation of Article 2, paragraph 4 of the United Nations Charter” and decides that the Russian Federation shall immediately, completely, and unconditionally withdraw all of its military forces from the territory of Ukraine within its internationally recognised borders”. The vote came in the wake of a sustained campaign by the West to economically strangle Russia through a raft of measures which include sanctions which are meant to foment an uprising against President Putin and topple his Government. The United States — a historical Cold War foe of Russia, and its allies in the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (a military alliance of 28 European countries and two North American nations including the US formed after World War 11 to counter Russia) — have been gradually encircling Russia through an expansionist policy that has seen Moscow’s neighbours and former satellite states joining Nato.
Given the historical context of the breakup of the former Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) and the end of the Cold War (which Russia rightly feels aggrieved by since it lost states such as Georgia, Armenia, Estonia, Belarus and Ukraine), the decision by Nato to continue its scorched earth policy of advancing menacingly towards Russia by progressively co-opting former Soviet Republics into its wing is unfortunate. As things stand, since 1999, former Warsaw Pact members (a military alliance formed by the USSR as a direct response to the formation of Nato) who include Poland, the Czech Republic and Hungary, have joined Nato.
They were later joined by Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia, completely surrounding Russia with its Cold War adversaries. Aggressive moves by Nato to admit Ukraine (which has a 2 000km border with Russia and is the largest of former Soviet states) into its ranks, appears to be the straw that broke the Carmel’s back and the military operation by Russia in Ukraine should be understood in this context. Russia feels threatened by the possible presence of a Nato nuclear arsenal within striking distance of its motherland and the pre-emptive move it has made is meant to protect its territory from future annihilation by a traditional foe. The huge shadow of the US in all this is not lost on neutrals who are aware of Washington’s burning desire to see the disintegration of Russia and its emergence as the undisputed world’s only superpower.
The hysterical reaction to Russia’s operation in Ukraine by the US should inform the world of its real intentions and while it cannot directly intervene militarily as it fears precipitating World War 3, it is actively engaged in covert operations to scuttle Moscow’s push. These include supplying Ukraine with the latest weapons, surveillance and intelligence gathering equipment. Facts though are stubborn. Russia remains a superpower with the world’s largest nuclear arsenal. The West should therefore tread carefully in its dealings with Moscow.
As Zimbabwe, we are alive to the geopolitics of that region and the historical context which informs current developments. As victims of the West’s tactics of sanctions and economic strangulation over the past 20 years, we can relate to Russia’s situation. We have been under an economic embargo for taking back our land which was grabbed by white colonialists. Besides, Russia has in the past used its veto power in the UN Security Council to come to our aid by blocking Western resolutions to interfere in our domestic affairs. We thus cannot sit back and watch as the UN Charter is violated with impunity and a sovereign nation is bullied into submission by strong powerful countries out to further their interests. In all this, the West’s pretense at being paragons of democracy and leaders of the “free world” has been exposed as a fallacy.
Democratic values such as freedom of the press are being trampled upon as Nato, the US and their allies seek to control the narrative. Suddenly, Russian media has no right to be heard because it is spewing so called “propaganda”. Channels such as Russia Today which were giving us the other side of the Russia-Ukrainian conflict no longer have a right to broadcast to the rest of the world after the EU imposed sanctions on companies which were providing their feed. Western media led by global giants such as CNN, Sky and the BBC are so emotionally attached to the positions of their Governments they have thrown professionalism out of the window. Surely, Western duplicity knows no bounds. Meanwhile, so called Russian oligarchs (wealthy businessman of Russian origin) all over the world are under siege with sanctions slapped on them while their assets are being illegally seized. The irony of grabbing assets of Russian citizens who amassed their wealth through blood, sweat and tears is not lost on the watching world. Even ordinary people in the West who include supporters of Chelsea Football Club in the English Premier League, whose owner Roman Abramovich has been sanctioned by the UK and had his club illegally taken away from him, are alarmed at unfolding developments.
Reports indicate they have been singing Abramovich’s name at Chelsea games but authorities are clamping down on their rights to freely express their disgust. The Russia phobia is alarming.
We posit that the Russia-Ukraine conflict cannot be resolved through megaphone diplomacy, sanctions, vilification of the Russian State and its people and bellicose posturing from the West which still has a bone to chew with Moscow over the Cold War. Just like any member of the UN, Russia deserves to be heard and its concerns addressed.
On the other hand, we commiserate with the ordinary Ukrainians who are suffering as a result of the miscalculation of their leaders who appear content with grandstanding on the world stage seemingly on a misguided mission to appease their Western handlers.
Only dialogue will result in a peaceful settlement of the situation in Ukraine and we call on the US, EU and Nato to address the genuine security concerns raised by Russia.
