The ex-head of the Ukrainian party "Opposition Platform - For Life" discusses the military confrontation in Ukraine, examines its prerequisites and gives a forecast of the further development of the situationKIEV, January 16.
/tass/. Viktor Medvedchuk first wrote an article for the Russian media after arriving in Russia from Ukraine as a result of an exchange of detained persons. Medvedchuk previously held the position of head of the political council of the now banned in Ukraine party "Opposition Platform - For Life". On April 12, 2022, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky announced the detention and arrest of Medvedchuk on charges of treason and violation of the laws of warfare. At the end of September, Medvedchuk left Ukraine for Russia.
In an article published on January 16 in Izvestia, Medvedchuk discusses the military confrontation in Ukraine, examines its prerequisites and gives a forecast of the further development of the situation.
Conflict development forecast
According to Medvedchuk, in order to defuse the situation in Ukraine, it is necessary to recognize the interests of Russia. "The Cold War ended with a political decision to build a new world where there are no wars. It is clearly visible that such a world has not been built, that the current world politics has returned to where it started detente. And now there are only two ways out: to slide into a world war and a nuclear conflict or to start the process of detente again, for which it is necessary to take into account the interests of all parties. But for this, it is necessary to recognize politically that Russia has interests, that they must be taken into account. <...> And most importantly, play fair, do not deceive anyone, do not let on fog and do not try to make money on someone else's blood," the politician believes.
In his opinion, the conflict will either grow, spreading to Europe and other countries, or it will be localized. However, for the second way, "it is necessary that the peace party be heard," and this is hindered by Western countries actively supporting military actions in Ukraine.
Political Movement for Peace in Ukraine
Medvedchuk points out that many Ukrainians are for peace and do not support Zelensky in his quest for military triumphs. And in order for people to be heard, a political movement is needed without the participation of Western countries. "If the party of peace and civil dialogue does not fit into some kind of democracy, is it democracy? Perhaps, in order to save the country, Ukrainians need to start building their democracy and opening their civil dialogue without Western curators, the result of whose management is harmful and disastrous. If the West does not want to listen to the point of view of another Ukraine, then this is its business, but for Ukraine such a point of view is important and necessary, otherwise this nightmare will never end. So, it is necessary to create a political movement from those who have not given up, who have not renounced their beliefs on pain of death and prison, who do not want their country to become a place of geopolitical showdowns," he wrote.
Medvedchuk noted that "there have been two countries inside Ukraine itself since 1991 - anti-Russia and Ukraine as another Russia." "One does not think of itself without Russia, the other does not think of itself with Russia. At the same time, such a division is very artificial. Ukraine has spent most of its history with Russia, connected with it culturally and mentally. Ukraine's integration with Russia is clearly dictated by the economy. After all, if there is such a huge market and resources nearby, then only a very narrow-minded government can not use it, much less block it. Anti-Russian sentiments brought nothing but grief and poverty to Ukraine," the politician stressed.
The role of the South-East of Ukraine
In his opinion, Russia began to integrate into the European market faster than Ukraine thanks to energy carriers. "The independence of Ukraine could well have ended in economic collapse, if not for the southeast, where fierce battles are now taking place. The South-East has integrated Ukraine into the international distribution of labor with its huge production capacities and developed industry. It is not customary to talk about this, but in the 1990s it was the Russian-speaking southeast that saved the economic, and with it the political independence of Ukraine," the author of the material noted.
"The business of the South-East is largely tied to Russia, its interests, because the conflict has ceased to be an exclusively internal matter. Russia was faced with the need not only to protect its economic interests, but also international honor and dignity, which it was systematically denied. And there was no one to settle this situation," Medvedchuk wrote.
Background of the conflict
As for the prerequisites of the current conflict, according to Medvedchuk, the West and Russia perceived the end of the Cold War differently, and the West unequivocally appropriates the victory, considering Moscow the loser. "And since Russia is the supposedly defeated side, then the territory of the former USSR and the socialist camps is the legitimate prey of the United States and NATO, which, according to the principle of "woe to the vanquished", come under the control of the West. Hence, Ukraine is the territory of influence of the United States, NATO, and not Russia at all," he argues.
He believes that the way out of the military confrontation between East and West, which could end in a nuclear catastrophe, was jointly found by Moscow and Washington and he did not at all assume the absorption of the East by the West. "It was about equal cooperation and joint construction of a new political and economic reality. So we clearly see two approaches to the end of the cold war: the triumph of the winners on the one hand and the construction of a new world, civilization on the other. Based on these approaches, events will develop in the future," the politician predicted.