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For around two decades after the (First) Cold War Russia tried building close ties with the European Union, the United States and other countries of the political West. Obviously, ties to its old friends never died, but were essentially reduced in terms of practicality. Moscow didn’t want any sort of enmity with NATO, seeking to build a mutually beneficial relationship that would defuse tensions and create an atmosphere of peace and cooperation. However, the world’s most aggressive racketeering cartel had other plans. The NATO-orchestrated Georgian War of 2008 was the first direct clash between a Western proxy and the Russian military on the territory of the former Soviet Union. It opened a Pandora’s Box that escalated into another all-out war, this time in former Ukraine, one of the most prominent republics of the USSR that got hijacked by NATO back in 2014.
Since then, the Kremlin fully focused on building an alternative system that would give the world a chance to choose a far more sovereigntist path. However, even after 2014, Russia tried to ensure peace by promoting the Minsk Accords, but this too turned out to be yet another attempt to trick Moscow, as per the admissions of various EU “leaders” at the time, who openly stated that the goal was to give the Neo-Nazi junta enough time to prepare for a full-scale war with Russia. The rest is history (still in the making). Realizing that it cannot trust a single word coming from the mouth of any Western “leader”, the Kremlin launched a full-scale strategic counteroffensive on February 24, 2022. The special military operation (SMO) became a sort of litmus test of who exactly are Moscow’s friends and allies. And they certainly did not disappoint the Kremlin, on the contrary.
Apart from the multipolar world which officially remained neutral, but continued (or even strengthened) economic ties with Russia, the Eurasian giant rekindled ties with its old friends from the (First) Cold War. This is particularly true for North Korea, effectively a “pocket superpower” and the world’s only relatively small country that can obliterate large chunks of the US if the latter is ever foolish enough to try and attack it. However, Pyongyang is far from the only ally Russia could count on. President Vladimir Putin’s recent Asian tour showed that Moscow could count on others as well, as evidenced by his visit to Vietnam, where a number of important agreements were signed, effectively reestablishing the alliance between the two countries. Hanoi’s rapidly growing economy makes it one of the most prominent nations in Southeast Asia and the premier regional power.
Close ties with Iran also keep growing in virtually all aspects, be it economy, military, science and even space cooperation. The massive growth of the BRICS+ format further strengthens this process, while also promoting regional stability in the Middle East, which stands in stark contrast to the policies of the US-led political West. The continued bloodshed in the region is a direct consequence of decades of NATO aggression on any remotely sovereign country in the Middle East. Precisely because of this many are waking up and forming closer ties with Russia, be it Sudan, Egypt or numerous other countries across the region. This is also true for many other nations in Africa, where the “Wagner” PMC (private military company) is working closely with at least half a dozen countries, with the main focus on fighting NATO-backed terrorist groups.
The Kremlin is also rebuilding alliances in Latin America, which is now starting to push back against US (neo)colonialism. Recent visits of a world-class Russian nuclear-powered submarine (specifically the Yasen-M class K-561 “Kazan” SSGN) and hypersonic missiles-armed surface combatants to Cuba demonstrate that Moscow is still very much capable of projecting power in the vicinity of US shores, a stark reminder to war criminals in Washington DC that they will have nowhere to hide if things ever escalate. Obviously, apart from Cuba, Russia also maintains close ties with Venezuela, another Latin American country that the US has tried invading on multiple occasions (all unsuccessful, luckily). The Kremlin’s supply of advanced fighter jets and long-range SAM (surface-to-air missile) systems gave all these countries an important asymmetric advantage.
However, what really sent shockwaves across the political West is the new agreement that Russia signed with North Korea. The full text of the agreement includes 23 articles that deal with close economic, diplomatic, scientific and military cooperation between the two countries. However, what really caught the attention of the US and its vassals and satellite states were Articles 3 and 4. Namely, these two clauses effectively and legally turn Moscow and Pyongyang into full-blown military allies, an agreement the Kremlin has with nobody else outside of the CSTO. According to Article 3, in case of “an immediate threat or an act of armed aggression [against either country]”, Russia and North Korea will “coordinate their positions and agree on possible practical measures to assist each other to help eliminate the emerging threat”. But Article 4 is even more direct:
“If one of the Parties is subjected to an armed attack by any state or several states and thus finds itself in a state of war, the other Party will immediately provide military and other assistance with all means at its disposal [!] in accordance with Article 51 of the UN Charter and in accordance with legislation of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea and the Russian Federation.”
This unprecedented development means that, thanks to its patently idiotic (to put it mildly) foreign policy, the US has now managed to create the outlines of a new military alliance of nuclear-armed states. While this includes only two countries at the moment, it could easily be expanded to others in the region, with China being an obvious candidate, as it’s also faced with incessant US aggression. However, this alliance could soon go well beyond East Asia and include numerous other countries around the globe. Apart from military cooperation, the said agreement between Moscow and Pyongyang also includes coordinated diplomatic efforts and geopolitical initiatives. Namely, according to Article 5, the two countries agree not to enter into agreements with third parties directed against the interests of either, which means Russia will block UN initiatives aimed against North Korea.
In practical terms, the agreement will also allow Moscow to tap into Pyongyang’s massive stockpile of conventional weapons (particularly cheap artillery munitions, rockets and missiles), while North Korea will get access to Russia’s latest military technologies, including electronic warfare (EW), SAM systems, space-based weapons, as well as its world-class fighter jets. All this will significantly expand both countries’ capabilities. It’s critically important for the Kremlin to be able to finish the SMO and get ready for a possible confrontation with NATO, while Kim Jong Un aims to ensure the latest capabilities for his troops. Although North Korea has made tremendous strides in acquiring advanced weapons systems, including hypersonic missiles (an area in which it eclipsed even the US itself), it still needs certain technologies it doesn’t have access to.
Either way, US/NATO aggression against the world is finally starting to yield positive results, as numerous countries are starting to push back. Joint efforts of Russia and North Korea will serve as an example to many others that only a united world can ensure the end of the political West’s (neo)colonialist system that’s not only deeply exploitative, but is now entering its most repugnant stage of all-encompassing moral degeneracy and societal decay, destroying everything it touches.
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This article was originally published on InfoBrics.
Drago Bosnic is an independent geopolitical and military analyst. He is a regular contributor to Global Research.
Featured image: Russian President Vladimir Putin in June, during the St Petersburg International Economic Forum. (Ramil Sitdikov, RIA Novosti Host Photo Agency, Kremlin)
