February 16, 2022
The diplomatic efforts of recent weeks, despite the mutual threats, show an awareness of the depth of danger that lies in this confrontation. Continuing a war of words, fomenting animosity between peoples who have lived together for centuries can lead to a flare-up of conflict which will not be easily contained, can find its own dynamism, deepen current divisions, and widen hostilities. The effects of this situation will not remain within the borders of the two countries. It must be acknowledged that peace and security in Europe cannot be achieved without or against the interests of Russia and the cessation of the US aggression. NATO's tearing expansion in the Eastern Europe has fueled the current crisis, sparking new upheavals on the continent.
Political-Executive Board of the Left Party of Iran (People’s Fadaian)
There is a serious and dangerous confrontation over Ukraine between the United States and its European allies on the one hand and Russia on the other. By deploying more than 100,000 troops and military equipment on Ukraine's borders, Russia wants to halt NATO's movement toward Russia's borders in the first instance, and then return NATO to pre-1997 conditions. The US government and its allies, however, claim that the focus of Russian forces is on a military strike on Ukrainian territory, threatening Russia with extensive sanctions in the event of an attack, and urging their citizens to leave Ukraine. The US government sends new troops to the NATO members in the Eastern Europe and sends experts and delivers weapons to Ukraine. Some European countries also follow suit. An atmosphere of mutual threats, diplomatic squabbles and propaganda warfare has been created that has raised fears of another tension in Europe. Although the talks between the two sides have not worked so far, there is evidence that diplomatic activities still have a chance of success. The German Chancellor's visit to “Moscow” and “Kiev” has raised hopes of resolving the crisis through dialogue.
The root of the current crisis must be traced to the post-Soviet developments. In the dream of leading the unipolar world, the US government sought to make Eastern Europe its sphere of influence. NATO expansion and membership from Eastern European countries, including some former Soviet republics, have been pursued to this end. Once formed to counter the Soviet Union and its allies, NATO has survived the collapse of the Soviet Union and the dissolution of the Warsaw Pact and has become a US tool for threatening and interfering in countries that are not US allies. In recent years, US intervention has expanded from former Yugoslavia to Afghanistan, Iraq, and Libya. NATO expansion is contrary to the West's promise to Mikhail Gorbachev. At the same time, some experts in the United States said that NATO expansion was the deadliest mistake in the US policy since the Cold War. This decision will fuel nationalist and anti-Western tendencies in Russia and create another atmosphere of Cold War in the East-West relations. Putin sees further NATO expansion into Russia's borders, the deployment of NATO forces and missile shields in Eastern European countries as a threat.
The crisis in Ukraine and the conflict in its northern provinces are the result of a conflict over Russia's opposition to the NATO expansion around Russia's borders. By ignoring this sensitive issue, which also causes divisions among the people of Ukraine, any attempt to solve of this country's internal problems will not be successful. One of the reasons that the implementation of the Minsk-2 agreement is still a point of hope for a way out of the current situation is the fact that in the Minsk agreement, a more general understanding of proximity or distance to Europe and the United States, as well as Russia, and the autonomy of the two provinces of Luhansk and Donetsk, which are mostly of Russian descent, and their consideration in the general orientations of the country are considered. Paying attention to this matter and restraining the militant nationalist forces in Ukraine can both end the civil war in the country and the separatism of these two provinces, as well as pave the way for the necessary stability to set its strategic orientations. It will also facilitate dialogue between the West and Russia in a more appropriate atmosphere.
The diplomatic efforts of recent weeks, despite the mutual threats, show an awareness of the depth of danger that lies in this confrontation. Continuing a war of words, fomenting animosity between peoples who have lived together for centuries can lead to a flare-up of conflict which will not be easily contained, can find its own dynamism, deepen current divisions, and widen hostilities. The effects of this situation will not remain within the borders of the two countries. It must be acknowledged that peace and security in Europe cannot be achieved without or against the interests of Russia and the cessation of the US aggression. NATO's tearing expansion in the Eastern Europe has fueled the current crisis, sparking new upheavals on the continent. It should be emphasized that the issue of Ukraine is essentially a European issue and a matter of the security of the continent. Hence, it can be resolved not by a confrontation between Russia and NATO, but by diplomatic dialogue between the countries of the continent. It is the responsibility of the European Union to understand this fact and to act accordingly.
The Left Party of Iran (People's Fadaian) considers the NATO expansion to be detrimental to the peace and public security in Europe and the world and condemns it. We believe that military alliances should be replaced by projects of peace and coexistence. Today's world needs democratic tools to resolve disputes. Ending the tension and the strategy of "balance of threat", continuing the talks, and de-escalating the relations are the only way out of the current situation. NATO's advance towards Russia's borders must be stopped. In our view, the Minsk-2 agreement between Ukraine, Germany, France, and Russia on Ukraine's internal problems is a viable solution to ending war and violence and to restrain extremist forces continuing tensions in the eastern Ukraine. War has not had and will not have any other result for the people of the world except inciting destruction and killing! We support the Declaration of the 50 Nobel Peace Prize Laureates to reduce by 2% the arms budget for 5 years and to allocate that budget to solve the greatest human issues, including in the field of climate.
Political-Executive Board of the Left Party of Iran (People’s Fadaian)
February 16, 202
Add new comment