Threat to international security is not just a concern for the United States and any of its NATO partners. Threat to peace anywhere is a global concern everywhere with the hope of creating condition for durable peace. Such a strategy of intensifying the war in Ukraine comes with loss of life and destruction of property without end.
Leaders of the world must differentiate facts from fiction. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine was an adventure just as US invasion of Afghanistan and Iraq. The end result will never be a win-win situation. It will be a loss-loss situation. Hence the objective of ensuring a speedy end to the war is simply to minimize damage.
The simple lesson to learn is that Russia is not Soviet Union. It does not lay claim to any ideology, be it communist, social democrat, socialist or conservative. Russian is not linked to any other state in the world on the basis of what it deems its national interest. There is no need for any European government with the eyes of the era of the Czar, Stalin or any other leadership.
The obvious fact is that the current Russian leadership is doing everything to move away from the western part of Europe which is now linked to the EU to link to the eastern part towards Asia. The eyes of the European Union leaders and the UK and their NATO partners USA should broaden their horizon to look at the new reality that is unfolding right before their own eyes. If they do, they will see a new world order emerging and Russia is steadily moving away from Western Europe and instead of being a bridge it could become a gulf.
It all depends on how the Russia-Ukraine war is settled. The more belligerent the war the greater the gulf and sanctions will ultimately isolate many countries and strangulate many countries that would engage in a trade war. UK, the European and US should work with the UN to develop better strategy and tactics based on what is reasonable and justifiable as dictated by times and circumstances.
