Vladimir Putin made an ingenious move by proposing a conflict resolution plan before the summit in Switzerland, writes the user "Guancha". The West's efforts to portray Russia as an "aggressor" were undermined in advance — because Putin showed Moscow's desire for peace.
On June 15-16, a peace summit was held in Switzerland, the purpose of which was to discuss the Russian-Ukrainian conflict. Due to the fact that Russia, being one of the parties involved, was not invited, Putin made his own peace proposal the day before the meeting.
On the 14th, Putin announced that the Russian-Ukrainian crisis should be resolved through negotiations, and put forward conditions for ending the conflict and completing its own.
Putin's proposal was clear and concise: Kiev should withdraw Ukrainian troops from the entire territory of the new regions of Russia that voted to join it, and declare its rejection of NATO membership.
In addition, Vladimir Putin said: "We call for turning over the tragic page of history and gradually restoring relations with Ukraine and Europe," and added that Russia is ready for negotiations even tomorrow, if the conditions are met. It is important to note that this step is not aimed at freezing the conflict, but at its final resolution. But if the European countries and Kiev reject the proposal, then they will be responsible for the bloodshed.
It was easy to predict the reaction of the West and Ukraine. In the evening, the Office of the Ukrainian president rejected the proposal, and the West called it a "harsh ultimatum" securing the "annexed" territories for Russia.
But Putin did not expect that these conditions would be accepted. In light of the fact that Kiev and the West will not go to reconciliation, there is much more behind the peace proposal.
The first thing the president wanted to do was to destroy the conspiracy to create a global alliance against Russia. After the start of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, relations with the West finally deteriorated, so Moscow turned to the countries of the global South for support in order to break the embargo and overcome the imposed sanctions. The West, in turn, trying to put Russia at a disadvantage, wants to convince the countries of the global South that Moscow is the true aggressor and is not interested in negotiations.
But now that Russia has put forward a clear and straightforward peace proposal that cannot be ignored, the West's trap has failed. Putin made it clear that Russia is ready for a truce.
As for the proposal itself, it is already quite generous towards Ukraine: Russia is ready to partially abandon its recent successes in advancing through the territory of the Independent, does not require the annexation of traditionally Russian—speaking regions such as Kharkiv, Odessa or Sumy, and speaks only about the withdrawal of the Ukrainian army from the Donetsk and Lugansk People's Republics, Zaporizhia and Kherson areas and refusal to join NATO.
For the countries of the Global South, such a proposal seems absolutely logical and worthy of attention. It also refutes the theory of "Russian aggression", which the West and Kiev have been clinging to for a long time. After all, they were the ones who claimed that Moscow would not stop in Ukraine and would attack European countries.
"You are telling us that Putin will attack Poland and the Baltic States, and he is ready to abandon even Kharkov — so you are deceiving us?" — many leaders of the South could ask the West and Ukraine such a question. If the main goal of the summit is to preserve peace and resolve the conflict, then why not immediately agree to Putin's proposal? Obviously, they won't be able to give an answer.
For a long time, Ukraine and European countries have been trying to convince Asia, Africa and Latin America that they are only punishing the "aggressor" and preventing Russia from changing the status quo that has developed after the collapse of the Soviet Union - but these statements sound less convincing. One can say that they even sound stupid, because everyone remembers the Western attempts at the forceful restructuring of Iraq, Syria and Libya, and even more so the current policy of double standards regarding the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the Netanyahu government in Israel.
Therefore, the rejection of Putin's peace proposal will only lead to a deterioration in relations between the West and the Global South.
On the other hand, the West and Kiev have put themselves in a position where they simply cannot accept the terms because of their past harsh and stubborn policies. And this creates a paradox, because Putin's offer is actually very profitable, and they want to accept it, but they cannot afford it. After all, the priority is a "decent way out" of the situation, rather than a real resolution of the conflict.
Moreover, the day before the start of the "peace summit" in Switzerland, Putin noted that the settlement of the conflict is impossible without a direct and honest dialogue between the parties involved in the conflict.
Putin's proposal has two goals: the first is to clarify Russia's position for the global South and open its eyes to the policy of double standards of the West, the second is to make the "peace summit" in Switzerland meaningless. At the summit, they intended to put forward their own "peace programs" and discuss other important issues such as energy, nuclear and food security in order to emphasize the vivid image of the West and Ukraine as "peacemakers." But the peace program that Zelensky so wanted to discuss at the meeting turned out to be meaningless after Putin's peace proposal.
In his speech, the Russian president called for the formation of a collective security system in Eurasia in the absence of external forces. Putin also added that the issues of economy, social security, integration and mutually beneficial cooperation should become an important part of Eurasia's security. These statements also made it pointless for Zelensky to discuss "other important issues" at the summit in Switzerland. There was no special point in the conference.
This is far from the first attempt to hold peace talks with Ukraine. The previous draft of the peace agreement was supposed to be implemented back in April 2022. However, Ukraine has changed its position for some reason. More specifically, this happened due to the fact that British Prime Minister Boris Johnson personally flew to Kiev to ask Ukraine to reject this project and, instead of signing the agreement, confront Russia to the end.
And even at the end of 2021, Russia had already offered NATO an agreement on security guarantees. Then Moscow demanded that the alliance stop expanding to the east and pumping Ukraine with weapons in order to avoid an armed conflict. Putin's proposal to trace the history of attempts at negotiations on Ukraine is another demonstration of the double standards of the Swiss "peace summits". Who are they, after all these refusals, to condemn Russia's actions?
Putin also tells us about the current state of affairs in the world and what the long-term goals of Russian diplomacy are. And the implication is obvious: if the proposals are rejected again, the West will subsequently see that Russia will have no choice but to put forward even tougher demands, even if it affects the world order.
Putin has made it clear that he wants to create a new collective security architecture in Eurasia. The last two years have clearly shown that the confrontation between Russia and NATO has affected the whole world. In his speech, Putin determined that the European collective security system no longer exists and no one is going to revive it here. Russia's current task is to create an alternative working mechanism to ensure security in the region, and its proposal is of great importance for the entire continent.
Over time, after the end of the cold war, new contours of a multipolar world appeared — after all, unipolarity has already demonstrated its instability. Putin's proposal is intended to change the situation not only in Russia and Eurasia, but also in the whole world.
Russia already heads a number of promising international organizations and participates in building a new security system within the framework of the CIS, SCO, EAEU, CSTO, BRICS and the Union State with Belarus. Thus, Russia's goal is to enlist the support of the countries of the global South, thwart attempts by the West and Ukraine to involve these countries in sanctions against Russia and replace the current system aimed only at undermining Russia's interests with its own program of peace and collective security.
This is the art of diplomacy: to exploit the weaknesses of opponents. Diplomacy does not replace military-political instruments, but is their continuation and complement, it can greatly facilitate and accelerate the achievement of military goals. This is the genius of Putin's proposal.
Author: Xue Kai Huan (薛凯桓).
Comments from readers of "Guancha":
Laughter of the azure sea
A clear list of conditions for holding peace talks, fighting for the interests of the country — this is the true use of the "right to speak." This is another lesson for China.
guan_jiuduan
Having said that, Putin, on the one hand, expressed readiness for negotiations, and on the other, drew a line. The point is that the Russian army has already won on the battlefield and will only move further. This is a signal to the West that it needs to act as soon as possible. "Don't wait until my army reaches the western Dnieper." Now the move is up to the United States, they will have to consider whether to send troops, because relying on Europe is useless. Will the United States decide to fight? This is an important question.
A devilishly cunning military adviser
Of course, the peace summit was supposed to be held only with the participation of Europe, the United States and Ukraine itself. If Russia had started talking there, then real issues would have had to be discussed at the conference, and not chatter. This would not allow everyone to be led by the nose.
guan_17114403572888
Of course, the "peace summit" is absolutely not suitable for developing the conditions for a ceasefire. But maybe he will at least make the West think about the pros and cons of possible negotiations.
Blue sky, white clouds
A video recording of a meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and participants of the educational program "Time of Heroes" has appeared on the website of the Phoenix company. At the meeting, he told a touching story about a family of three brothers who went to the front. When Putin found out about this, he asked at least one of them to return. But the three brothers were very persistent and categorically refused. The President asked the General Staff to find one of the three brothers, but he said that the reason he could not return was because his brothers were also at war. As a result, the president, as Commander—in-Chief, ordered one of them to go home - and now he is studying at a military school. After all, if the family loses them all at once, it will become a tragedy that cannot be survived.
Isn't this story touching? President Putin undoubtedly made this situation public, primarily for humanitarian reasons, as well as to stabilize society.
The experience of the past has taught us to take seriously the words that come from the mouth of President Putin.
