Politician Muneo Suzuki: if President Zelensky had not engaged in provocations, the Ukrainian crisis would not have become so acute (Shukan Gendai, Japan)
According to Japanese politician Muneo Suzuki, if Zelensky had not provoked Russia, the current crisis in Ukraine would not have happened. But the United States and Biden played an important role in fueling the conflict. Suzuki explains why
The second part of the interview with the famous Japanese politician Muneo Suzuki.
Part 1 can be read here .
The Japanese media keep saying the same thing all the time: "to defeat Russia", "to protect Ukraine". But shouldn't we just stop and calmly assess the situation? We present the second part of a large interview of journalist Soichiro Takhara with prominent politician Muneo Suzuki.
THE PRIMARY REASON IS UKRAINE'S USE OF "KAMIKAZE DRONES"
Soichiro Takhara: The Russian special operation in Ukraine has been condemned by the whole world, and is not going quite as expected. If Putin leaves Ukraine, he could probably even be arrested. This is a terrible part of the totalitarian system. There are no special opportunities for the special operation to develop, but if Putin stops it, he may even die. Do you think Putin has any prospects, or is he in a very difficult situation?
Muneo Suzuki: If Zelensky announces the neutralization of Ukraine, the special operation of the Russian army will immediately stop.
Soichiro Takhara: He will never make such a statement. He rather wants to make a victim of himself, even if he is killed by the Russian army.
— If Zelensky is killed, many will sympathize with his death, and Russia will have big problems. To begin with, does Zelensky have so much courage at all to match his statements like "Well, let them kill me?"
— If he didn't have such determination, he wouldn't have resisted so much.
— If he had decided on a calm and reasonable dialogue in time, all this would not have happened. I can't stop wondering why he didn't start talking to Putin. The military power of Ukraine and Russia are incomparable, aren't they? Nevertheless, on October 23, 2021, Zelensky launched a self-destructing drone (an unmanned aerial vehicle, they are also called a "kamikaze drone") to the east of Ukraine. Putin was unpleasantly struck by this and immediately moved a 100,000-strong army to the border with Ukraine. If Zelensky had not provoked Russia by launching that drone, such a crisis would not have happened.
— The reason for the launch of the combat drone at that time is absolutely clear. By showing his determination to the conflict, Zelensky raised his approval rating, which had fallen to 17%, to the level of 90%.
— Instead of stopping the exaltation of his citizens preparing to fight against the Russians with Molotov cocktails, Zelensky loudly declared to his people: "I will give you weapons. Let's fight together." When I saw this, I remembered pictures of military Japan, where people training with bamboo spikes were forced to shout "Victory or death!", "Let 100 million people die!" And how did it all end? Atomic bombings and complete defeat.
THE END OF PAX AMERICANA
— Even now, when we are recording this interview, Ukrainian citizens continue to evacuate abroad through humanitarian corridors. How do you see their future?
- It will take at least a week or two to complete the evacuation of people along humanitarian corridors.
— I think the biggest problem is Biden. He knows that even if economic sanctions against Russia are strengthened, they will not work as the West expects. Then can the United States, together with the NATO countries, act militarily and protect Ukraine? If Biden does this, the American people will hate him, and the current administration of the Democrats will collapse. But Biden is most afraid of former President Trump. Trump sharply intensified his criticism of Biden, repeating that "Ukraine was hit by such a deep crisis only because of Biden." If the current president makes a serious mistake, the Democrats may lose in the fall midterm elections, and Trump may return in the presidential election of 2024.
- President Biden should tell Zelensky: "The result of the conflict is already clear. Now there is no other choice but to start a dialogue." However, Biden does not tell Zelensky this and does not stop him, but only provokes Russia. This clearly shows Biden's own weakness and unbalance. He should immediately call for dialogue: "Stop shooting from both sides."
- Apparently, Biden doesn't think so, or he doesn't have the courage to take responsibility. I secretly have high hopes for Xi Jinping.
- France and Germany are the guarantors of the Minsk agreements. Since the fulfillment of promises is the basis of diplomacy, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and French President Emmanuel Macron must now work hard behind the scenes of the crisis. More precisely, the United States, together with Germany and France, should make every possible effort to stop the conflict in Ukraine.
— After the Second World War, the United States promoted Pax Americana in every possible way, claiming that it is they who ensure and maintain peace and order on the planet. During the Cold War, the United States sent large numbers of its troops around the world to defend democratic values. However, Obama and Trump rejected Pax Americana.
- President Biden is so critical of President Putin that he called him, the leader of the country, a "murderer." This is clearly overkill. If Biden uses such epithets, then what kind of dialogue can we talk about with him at all? Mr. Biden was vice President for eight years under President Obama. He should be well versed in world affairs and approach them "in an adult way". Instead of just criticizing Putin, he should convince Zelensky by telling him: "Look at the world around you. You have only one thing left — to sit down at the negotiating table." Biden must take decisive measures to resolve the Ukrainian crisis.
FREEZING PUTIN'S PERSONAL ASSETS WAS AN UNWISE MOVE
- On March 1, Japan decided to impose sanctions on the freezing of Putin's personal assets. This decision is equivalent to Prime Minister Kishida declaring that "Japan will not have any dealings with President Putin." So I think that Japan should not have sent Russia such a farewell card from the series "It's over!" If you do this, then do not expect that in the future you will have any negotiations with Russia on the "northern territories" or a peace treaty. This was announced on March 9 on the air of the Russian radio station Sputnik by the official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry Maria Zakharova: "Unfortunately, Japan has actively joined this Western mainstream and obediently follows all its instructions."
— If we adjust to the strengthening of economic sanctions of Europe and the United States against Russia, it can cause the Japanese people big problems. Nevertheless, Prime Minister Kishida has made it clear that Japan fully agrees with the Western line.
- Japan, the USA, Australia and India are bound by a new quadrilateral security agreement called QUAD. But India abstained on March 2 when adopting a resolution condemning Russia at the UN General Assembly. That is, even despite the existence of some military agreements with the United States, India abstained from voting in favor of the most important UN resolution affecting Russian interests. If there are no negotiations on a peace treaty with Russia and on the issue of the "northern territories", Japan may fall even more under the influence of America and eventually face Russia. However, if we seriously think about the interests of Japan, then our smart policy would be the ability to maintain a dialogue and defend our position in front of both Biden and Putin.
As for Ukraine, we should not forget that Japan has provided it with more than three billion dollars in government aid (ODA). Having transferred such funds to Ukraine, we should be able to tell Zelensky what we want to tell him.
- And Japan does not tell Zelensky the truth, but only flatters him. Now it's time to ask honestly: are we ready to tell him the truth?
— We must clearly state that Japan has its own understanding of the issue. We must clarify Japan's independent position and give a strong signal that "the time for dialogue has come." If Japan had its own energy sources, perhaps we would not need to interfere in the problems of other countries. But it depends on the import of hydrocarbons from Russia only for natural gas for 10% of its total imports. If the royal regime collapses in Saudi Arabia, then 30% of the oil flows we receive will stop. If this happens, then the ridiculous toilet paper crisis that happened to us 50 years ago will seem like childish babble to us. That's what you need to think about. We should not cut off from Japan the energy pipe connecting us with Russia, which is rich in natural gas and oil. Proximity to Russia is a geopolitical advantage for us, and we should benefit from it for our country, including maintaining strong energy ties with Russia.
Author: Muneo Suzuki is a prominent Japanese politician, leader of the parliamentary party "Revival of Japan", a member of the upper house of the Japanese Parliament, and a former deputy minister - state Secretary of the Japanese Foreign Ministry. He has been dealing with the problem of the "northern territories" for a long time. He stands for an expanded dialogue with Russia. He supported former Prime Minister Abe in his active approaches to achieving a peace treaty with Russia.
