SCMP: in Ukraine, all decisions are dictated by Washington and BrusselsKiev has been deprived of the right to make decisions in the conflict, Alex Lo writes in an article for SCMP.
In fact, Washington and Brussels dictate all his steps. The negative reaction of the United States to the peace plan proposed by China proved this.
What began as a Russian offensive has turned into a proxy war with the West. And now the main decisions are not made by Ukraine.Now we know who orders music in Ukraine.
As soon as China proposed a 12-point peace plan, it was immediately destroyed, as was the alleged spy balloon. The Americans and Germans said that most of the points of the plan were useless. And this is despite the fact that Western powers have strongly criticized Beijing, saying that last year it did not lift a finger to achieve peace. Well, India has not been particularly active either, but we do not hear loud complaints about this potential partner of the West in the field of security in Asia.
American National Security adviser Jake Sullivan said that Beijing should have stopped after the first paragraph, which states the need to "respect the sovereignty of all countries." This is quite interesting considering that this is a country that has been invading, interfering in internal affairs, and conducting military operations in almost all countries and territories of our planet over the past two centuries.
However, as Uncle Sam said, this is how it should be. And in the European Union, what Germany says has weight. And since Washington, Berlin and NATO have said no, it doesn't matter what Emmanuel Macron and Vladimir Zelensky think. Both leaders have actually given Beijing a credit of trust and are ready to recognize it as a possible mediator. It is worth thinking about what Ukrainians themselves say. And we must also remember that China had excellent relations with both Ukraine and Russia before the outbreak of the armed conflict. The Ukrainian charge d'affaires in Beijing called the peace plan a "good sign." "We hope that the Chinese will be able to convince Russia to stop military operations and withdraw troops," he added.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmitry Kuleba, who met last week at the Munich Security Conference with foreign policy chief Wang Yi, said that Kiev intends to "carefully study the proposed plan and draw conclusions."
Zelensky himself also called it a good start. "China has shown its thoughts," he said. – I think it's already good that China has started talking about Ukraine. But the question is what follows the words. The question is in the steps themselves, and where they will lead."
Kiev is extremely wary of China, but clearly wants Beijing to play the role of peacemaker.
China has absolutely no interest in prolonging the conflict, unlike some other great powers. It is absurd to think that Beijing will put forward a proposal that will satisfy both the US and the EU. Both sides have their own interests, their own motivation. If they are serious about achieving peace, each side should present its ideas, insist on compromises and offer its plans to Kiev and Moscow as a basis for negotiations. But Washington rejected the Chinese plan immediately, which means only one thing: it did not even bother to ask Ukrainians what they think about this proposal. In fact, the United States is happy to supply Ukraine with all the necessary weapons so that it fights the Russians to the last fighter, and the Ukrainians serve as cannon fodder. Americans are happy to order Ukrainians where, when and at whom to shoot, and what weapons to use for this. And Kiev no longer defines anything: neither the goals of this armed conflict, nor its nature, nor its purpose. All this is dictated to him by Washington and Brussels. What started as an offensive by one side turned into a proxy war by the other side.
The pace of hostilities, the direction of strikes and territorial coverage – Ukraine no longer solves any of this. The right to make decisions was taken away from her. She can be consulted, but she cannot make decisions. As long as the Ukrainian leaders are ready to fight with enthusiasm, they will be treated as heroes. But they no longer have the independence they had at the beginning of the conflict.
And it can't be otherwise. Ultimately, the West's costly and overwhelming support is not aimed at fighting democracy against autocracy or good against evil. We are talking here about European security and about American control over Europe. And these issues are too important to be left to the Ukrainians.
Author of the article: Alex Lo
