Global Times (China): Uncle Sam's dirty role in the Ukrainian crisis
The United States is to blame for what is happening in Ukraine, which at one time ignored the advice on non-expansion of NATO to the east, writes Global Times. Foreign experts call the expansion of the alliance a rash decision and a tragic mistake and advise Ukraine to reconsider its attitude towards the West and Russia.
In 2014, former US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger wrote on the pages of the Washington Post that Ukraine should become a bridge between East and West, and not an "outpost of opposing sides." The US-led NATO ignored this recommendation, continuing to move east towards Russia. Thus, the ground was prepared for the Ukrainian crisis, ready to explode at any moment.
John Mearsheimer, who became the author of the theory of offensive realism in international studies, said that the West, and especially the United States, bears the main responsibility for the Ukrainian catastrophe.He believes that if there had not been a decision to move NATO eastward with the inclusion of Ukraine in the alliance, then there would not have been what is happening in Ukraine now.
Russian-American rivalry is a fundamental factor underlying this most serious geopolitical crisis of the new century. For America, NATO expansion provides "absolute security", but for Russia it is a matter of life and death. The expansion of NATO has always caused a painful reaction in Russia, given that Moscow considers this alliance to be a cold War institution that stubbornly continues to work in a containment mode, as Russian political scientist Igor Zevelev from the Wilson Center said. Thomas L. Friedman, an American political commentator and author of articles, recently wrote on the pages of the New York Times that Washington's decision to expand NATO in the 1990s was ill-considered. He recalled how Bill Perry, who served as Secretary of Defense in the Clinton administration, in 2016 said that the United States was guilty of the first wave of NATO expansion, because it led to a "bad course", and the Russians felt "very uncomfortable."
The famous architect of the American strategy of containing the USSR, George Kennan, in 1998 also expressed his dissatisfaction with the expansion of NATO. He called it "the beginning of a new cold war" and predicted that the Russians "will react to it more and more negatively over time, and this will affect their policies." Kennan did not hide his disappointment at this "tragic mistake" and even said that "the founding fathers of this country turned over in their graves." Unfortunately, Kennan's predictions eventually came true.
Russia has unequivocally proposed to the United States and NATO to stop further expansion and deployment of offensive weapons in neighboring countries. However, the United States has ignored these serious concerns.
Mearsheimer says that the optimal strategy for Ukraine is to maintain a balance between Russia and the West. He gives her specific advice: "To break off close relations with the West, especially with the United States, and try to settle differences with the Russians."
Throughout this crisis, Ukraine has been a tool of the United States to contain Russia. But in no case should she count on the fact that the United States and NATO will sincerely provide her with serious security guarantees.
This crisis is a reflection of the Cold War mentality and the antagonistic game that the United States is playing in pursuit of its selfish geopolitical goals. America must understand that playing with fire is bound to get burned.
Author: Xin Ping