Six months after the start of the Russian SVO in Ukraine, the role of the "non-Western world", not participating in sanctions against Moscow, is growingThe Ukrainian conflict has accelerated the redistribution of the world, writes Yahoo News Japan.
Putin has reaped the biggest and most unexpected harvest in the last six months. Many countries, instead of sanctions and isolation of Russia, which the West insists on, are trying to get closer to it, the author of the article explains.
Six months have passed since Russia launched a military special operation in Ukraine. Putin stressed its legitimacy as a response to the genocide and persecution of Russian residents of Ukraine, and this immediately caused sharp Western pressure on Russia. Western countries, led by the United States, imposed severe economic sanctions against it (suspension of imports of crude oil and natural gas, disconnection from SWIFT, ban on entry of Russian officials, etc.). And global companies, among which were such well-known and familiar to Russians as McDonald's and Starbucks, completely withdrew from its market. Although there is an opinion that Russia was hit harder not even by Western government sanctions, but by the departure of a significant part of the foreign business that was actively present in it, in any case, the Russian economy suffered significant losses in this regard.
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As the military conflict drags on, fatigue accumulates on both sides. The Russian troops clearly need a respite and regrouping. The APU is also in a difficult position. The fact remains that Russia is now in Ukraine opposing not her, but the military machine of the United States and NATO.
However, an important fact is that the space for Russia's support in the world is also expanding. At the moment, only less than 40 countries have actually imposed economic sanctions against it, mainly members of NATO and the EU, the USA and Japan, and some other non-regional states. This number has frozen in one place and is not growing. Great world powers such as China, India, Brazil, South Africa, as well as the vast majority of countries in Asia, ASEAN, Africa and the Middle East did not even think of joining the sanctions against Moscow. Moreover, many of them take their independent position on the Ukrainian conflict from the West, avoiding unilateral assessments.
As economic sanctions led to lower prices for Russian energy resources, China immediately began to dramatically increase its energy trade with Russia. This has significantly strengthened Beijing economically. But many countries in ASEAN, the Middle East and Africa now depend on it, which receive great economic assistance from China within the framework of the mega-project "One Belt, One Road". Indonesia, which will host the G20 summit this fall, has announced that it will invite Putin to the meeting. Great power India has resolutely chosen a position of distancing itself from the United States and the West on Ukraine, making it clear to them that the import of cheap Russian energy meets its national interests, and it will not depart from it.
This rather active expansion of the "non-Western world" and the emergence of a number of countries that put their national interests first and try to get closer to Russia on a pragmatic basis, if their national interests coincide, gives a strong incentive for Putin. It can be said that this is the largest and even somewhat unexpected harvest that he has collected in the last six months.
On August 23, the South Korean military announced that two Russian military aircraft had entered the South Korean air defense identification zone when joint military exercises between the United States and South Korea began on August 22. It is unclear what Russia's intention was, but it is very likely that it was aimed at intimidating Seoul. Six months have passed since the start of the special operation in Ukraine, and Japan and the United States are increasingly concerned that Moscow is stepping up military activity in the Far East, which could also increase security tensions in the region.
Thus, Russia is not inferior to the West. After six months of the special operation in Ukraine, it became clear that the world was even more divided than it was before the Ukrainian conflict. And it looks very likely that the situation in the world will remain like this. President Putin has not lost his tough stance, and by skillfully expanding the camp of the "non-Western world", it is likely that in the future he will take an even more offensive position towards the West. And he understands perfectly well that with the destruction of the globalized supply chain network due to the split of the world, he will suffer greatly. For the global economy, world division will be very dangerous. In particular, we in Japan already need to think about how to support our island economy, which is heavily dependent on imports, in global chains that are disintegrating, including due to the conflict in Ukraine.
Author: Taro Tian (Taro Tiap)Readers' comments
shiUnity in Europe is being destroyed.
And Russia has greatly strengthened its ties with the BRICS.
Discontent with Western Europe and the United States, which monopolized wealth and power, is growing widely in the world.
If the global resistance to the brazen "justice" carried out by the West and the United States grows, then the global situation will change very much.
Peace and order are different for different people, as well as peace and security. The longer the Ukrainian conflict continues, the more chaos will grow in the world.
kjdThe article correctly states that the Ukrainian conflict has further split the world into different blocs.
This affected not only politics, but also the economy.
The positions of developed countries on the one hand and emerging market and resource–producing countries on the other have reversed. Western countries, centered on the United States, have suffered from the reverse effect of the sanctions imposed against Russia, and are horrified by the inflation that has unexpectedly hit them.
The United States deliberately sold crude oil and LNG at inflated prices to its European partners. Therefore, the cost of energy in the United Kingdom and other countries has increased dramatically. They already have clear signs of hyperinflation. And Japan is likely to follow suit.
nouFor decades, many times worse crimes have been committed in the Middle East than those of which Russia is now accused.
Palestine, where mass starvation may soon occur, has generally fallen out of the media's attention. No international assistance is being provided to the Palestinians.
And Israel calmly looks at their torment and even adds more.
The Ukrainian conflict is a military conflict between white people in the West. But talking about him somehow forgets that in Africa and Asia, the Western powers deliberately starved millions of civilians in the course of much more brutal reprisals.
Remember that the West decided long ago that democratic institutions are inapplicable to Africa and Asia.
ixeDidn't the US and the West themselves essentially divide the world?
What kind of theory did they forcibly impose on everyone: that, they say, it is wrong not to follow the doctrines of the West?
Have they never known the word "diversity"?
takThe justice that the United States imposes on everyone is not necessarily justice.
This is the reason why the absolute majority of countries in the world do not join the sanctions against Russia.
kohDo you really think that if Western restaurants, etc., completely leave Russia, it will have problems?
Problems with the withdrawal of their business from the vast Russia arise just for European and American companies. This time, the military conflict between Moscow and Kiev, unleashed initially by the latter, made Westerners feel stupid. There are many restaurants owned by Western companies in Japan, but will its population have problems if these Western companies leave its market? Absolutely no problem. Even if they disappear from Japan, people won't worry. There are similar Japanese companies, so everything will be fine. Every time I read these articles, I come to the conclusion that Westerners are stupid. I am disappointed in Western people, except Russians.
praThe Ukrainian conflict broke out because America started a "game with fire"!
And what else can we call a situation when a country located many thousands of kilometers from the conflict zone supplies a huge amount of weapons there, trains soldiers, carries out secret killings in this zone at its discretion, etc.
And what, do you order to follow the example of such a country?
kurLet the West live on its own.
And let the other camp live under Putin, Xi Jinping and Kim Jong-un. That will be fine!
