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Ukraine conundrum
A third World War seems in danger of starting in Ukraine, as even a small incident could become a pretext for wider conflict.
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Ukrainian servicemen undertake a 200 kilometer march as part of combat training in the Chernihiv region of Ukraine on Feb. 12, 2022. (AFP/STR)
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n response to the tension in Ukraine, Indonesia has joined many other nations in calling on the parties in conflict, especially the United States and Russia, to seek peaceful solutions. Ukraine, the center of the conflict, has little power to defend its sovereignty and can only try to prevent actions that will be taken as a pretext for war.
In a telephone conversation with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on Wednesday, Foreign Minister Retno LP Marsudi encouraged Russia to pursue peace. It remains unclear whether Retno will express the same sentiment to US Secretary of State Antony Blinken.
“All countries are responsible for expressing a message of peace because conflicts are useless, and the world’s energy should be directed at overcoming the pandemic and the world economic recovery,” Retno told Lavrov, as quoted in a Foreign Ministry statement on Thursday.
Indonesia’s apprehension is shared by a number of countries that do not want a clash of the titans to break out. Striving to maintain global peace and order is constitutionally mandated in Indonesia, and promoting cooperation, rather than confrontation, is becoming more relevant now that Indonesia holds the presidency of the Group of 20, of which Russia and the US are members.
A third World War seems in danger of starting in Ukraine, as even a small incident could easily become a pretext for wider conflict. On Saturday, US President Joe Biden reiterated his warning to Russian President Vladimir Putin that the West would respond decisively to any invasion of Ukraine.
The crisis is related to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s desire for Ukraine to join NATO, which Russia deems a threat to its national security.
A former comedian and actor, Zelensky reportedly said in 2014 that he would “go down on his knees” to beg Putin to stop his aggression against Ukraine after Russia invaded and annexed Crimea in February of that year. But after being elected president in 2019, Zelensky has now demanded that Putin end the occupation of Crimea and pay compensation for losses resulting from the invasion.
Neither of his two wishes are realistic because of the power imbalance between Ukraine and Russia. On the other hand, seeking a help from the West may exacerbate the tensions.
Putin has repeatedly denied Biden’s allegations that Russia is planning an imminent invasion of Ukraine. In this regard, Biden told Zelensky the US would help Ukraine face any military attack from Russia, but the Ukrainian president seemed unimpressed.
It may be true that Putin will not attack Ukraine but intends rather to step up pressure on Kyiv to drop its bid to join NATO and to influence Ukraine’s domestic politics. There is a growing perception, which Russia has denied, that many Russians are longing for the past glory of the Russian-dominated Soviet Union, which collapsed in 1991.
The world should not let Washington or Moscow decide the fate of Ukraine, or any other sovereign state. We cannot simply accept that the world has to suffer from irresponsible acts by leaders of a few powerful countries.
