Global Research

When two brothers are fighting and hurting each other very badly just to advance the ambitions of a third party, what is the best possible advice for them?

Clearly it is to stop fighting immediately and to start making amends for the harm that has been already caused to both of them, to heal the wounds of both of them.

This is exactly what Russia and Ukraine should do today, stop fighting immediately and start their long walk together on the path of peace, healing and rehabilitation.

But, to go back to the example of two brothers fighting each other, what if the third party prevents the younger brother from giving up fighting? What if in the extended household of the younger brother most members want the path of peace but there are just one or two armed bullies, in collusion with the third party, who threateningly insist that the younger brother should go on fighting.

Then the most reasonable, most beneficial course of giving up fighting becomes difficult to achieve, the fighting continues, the two brothers continue to bleed and the third party is satisfied that it objective is being achieved.

However can the third party really afford to be pleased by instigating and prolonging the fight of the two brothers? The third party is actually acting like the monkey who ignites a fire and fools around with it without realizing that he himself can be burnt in this fire.

Seen from the perspective of the two countries and their people, there is absolutely no reason why Russia and Ukraine should be fighting each other. There is absolutely no rationale for the two neighboring countries to be enemies of each other. On the other hand there is every reason to be friends with each other, and to reap the immense benefits of many-sided cooperation, a fact which is rooted in geography. In addition there are many people on both sides united by ethnicity, family links, language, culture, faith and by memories of having lived and worked together.

When the USA and NATO started speaking of NATO membership of Ukraine, Russia opposed this for the obvious reason that the USA and NATO have been very hostile to Russia and prospects of very destructive weapon systems being installed very close to its very long borders with Ukraine were simply too dangerous for Russia. What is more, less than 20% of people of Ukraine supported Ukraine’s membership of NATO, as revealed in various polls from 1990s to 2013. Both the government and leading opposition leaders in Ukraine in 2013 were by and large agreed on not accepting NATO membership and remaining more or less neutral.

It was in 2014 that the situation changed drastically due to a coup in Ukraine instigated and supported by the USA and close allies like the UK. A democratically elected President and his government were ousted in this coup and a regime completely under US/west influence was installed. After this, starting with day one, only anti-Russia policies were allowed. To achieve this the small but militant minority of anti-Russian forces in Ukraine including the far right and neo-Nazi forces were strengthened, particularly in military terms. Even after elections held several years later, these forces ensured that even those elected on a platform of neutrality and peace with Russia would actually act in opposite ways.

Now the Ukraine government took strong steps against its own Russian language speaking people, leading to civil war like conditions. Thousands of people died. NATO and its members started providing large-scale military training and arms supply in Ukraine.

On the other hand European countries like Germany and France also moved in to help peace steps like Minsk accords but later leaders of both countries admitted that this was merely a disguise by them to provide time for Ukraine to be strengthened militarily. When this violence against Russian speaking people of Ukraine increased further in 2021-22, Russia invaded in early 2022.

However within a week of the invasion peace talks were initiated, getting a good response. Hence within six weeks of the invasion, peace efforts based in Istanbul and elsewhere had brought the two sides very close to clinching a peace agreement. Just then British PM Boris Johnson reached Kiev suddenly to sabotage the peace effort and now the war has completed nearly 30 months. Nearly 1.5 million persons have died from the direct and indirect impacts of this war. Nearly 9 million persons have been displaced for varying lengths of time, internally and externally. If most of the weapons given to Ukraine by the western countries are to be paid for, then the debt of Ukraine has reached extremely difficult levels. A lot of its farmland and other important assets are up for grabs by big business interests, particularly those based in western countries.

Several senior persons who have held responsible positions in the west have stated openly that this war suits them as they are harming Russia constantly without any harm being caused to their own soldiers. Some others have stated that the weapons help given to Ukraine comes back in the form of big contracts for their weapon manufacturers. In such analysis the reality of the several hundred thousand people of Ukraine dying in very painful ways is not even mentioned.

Many experts have raised the issue of the possibility of escalation of this conflict to a nuclear weapons war, and the consequences of this would be simply too disastrous to contemplate.        

Hence clearly a time has come for the two brothers to stop fighting and to embark on a process of peace, healing and rehabilitation. They should start with immediate ceasefire on the basis of the existing line of control and then soon start peace negotiations to resolve all contentious issues, determined that, whatever efforts the third party may make, the peace process will continue and there will never be another war between the two countries.

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Bharat Dogra is Honorary Convener, Campaign to Save Earth Now. His recent books include Protecting Earth for Children, Planet in Peril, Earth without Borders and A Day in 2071. He is a regular contributor to Global Research.

Featured image is from Andrew Korybko