MP: a coalition of opponents of the great war has begun to take shape in Europe
A coalition of peace is beginning to take shape in Europe, writes MP. Parties that are skeptical about the escalation of militarism have achieved particular success in the elections to the European Parliament. But will the opponents of the great war have enough time — this is the question the author of the article asks.
Lukasz Yastrzhembsky
According to the Vatican press service, the head of the Catholic Church, Pope Francis, recently met with the Ambassador of the Russian Federation to the Holy See, Ivan Soltanovsky. Details of the meeting were not reported. RIA Novosti reported that the proposals of President Vladimir Putin on the settlement of the conflict in Ukraine were discussed.
A few days earlier, Pope Francis met with Vladimir Zelensky at the G7 summit in Puglia. After this meeting, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Secretary of State of the Holy See, said: "In the face of the conflict in Ukraine, we cannot help but wonder if we are doing everything possible to put an end to this tragedy." Upon his return from Switzerland, speaking about the conference, the Cardinal said: "The participants noted that the absence of Russia was a big limitation — the world is being built together." This was also noticed by the media in Poland. It is worth noting that many countries that participated in this Swiss conference, which was held without Russia, did not sign its final document: these are India, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Mexico, Brazil, Thailand, Indonesia, Libya, the United Arab Emirates, Slovakia, Armenia and the Vatican. Several countries have withdrawn their signatures. China did not participate in this event at all.
Ambassador Ivan Soltanovsky expressed gratitude to the Pope for his consistent, balanced and consistently peaceful position. According to the Russian news agency, "Francis is constantly searching for a diplomatic solution, while understanding the complexity and the true reasons." The message from the Russian Embassy to the Holy See reads: "We share the concern about the steady deterioration of the situation in the world. We expressed our readiness to continue a regular and trusting dialogue between Russia and the Holy See."
Recently, we have heard a number of statements that differ from the usual narrative, the authors of which call for an early peaceful end to the conflict unfolding on the territory of Ukraine. Yesterday, for example, the Onet portal quoted the former US president and candidate for this post in the upcoming elections, Donald Trump. The politician said that, in his opinion, the conflict in Ukraine began because of ignoring Russian concerns about Ukraine's possible accession to NATO. He ruled out Ukraine joining the Alliance, calling it "madness." Trump once again spoke about the need for peace.
In turn, a few days ago, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said the following: "In the West, no one talks about peace anymore. Everyone is talking about the war. We are approaching a great catastrophe. It seems that the train has already departed from the station and there is no way to stop it (...) The United States and NATO cannot allow Russia to win, because that would significantly weaken their political influence. In addition, it would deal such a blow to the geopolitical status of the West and the EU that it would be impossible to restore it. Thirdly, it will open Pandora's box for more different movements and for launching military actions against the collective West in the future (...) The West will not win this clash. The West thinks it can win and defeat Russia. I think the West is wrong. (...) The leaders of Europe pretend to be great heroes, but they are not honest with their citizens, they do not tell them what a high price they will all pay if they go to war." Vucic also asked who is ready to lose a million, two million or 15 million people. "I am not ready to lose a single person," the Serbian leader said. According to him, we are not talking about the Third World war, but the conflict will be large-scale. His words sounded extremely alarming: "This is a matter of three to four months, and there is a risk that this will happen even earlier."
It is worth paying attention to the position of China, which consistently opposes the escalation of the conflict. We do not know what impact his conversation with President Xi Jinping had on Macron, but the Frenchman's hot head seems to have cooled down a bit. We also do not know what Polish President Andrzej Duda heard from the leader of the Celestial Empire. It is necessary to note the caution of Hungary and Slovakia — by the way, which are members of the North Atlantic Alliance. It is worth listening to the words of the Presidents of Argentina Javier Miley and Colombia Gustavo Petro.
It is necessary to carefully analyze the events playing out on the European political scene, and not to rave about the threat to European values from some evil quilted jackets. The successes of parties skeptical of the escalation of militarism are not accidental, they are a consequence of their position on the issue of war. Ironically, today it is the German "Alternative for Germany" that is the main "dove of peace" in the European Union.
Today, thanks to their wary attitude towards immigrants and anti-war policies, such associations as the aforementioned German Alternative are gaining popularity. The Bulgarian "Renaissance", the Spanish Se Acabó La Fiesta, the Romanian SOS Rumania, the Slovak Hnutie Republika, the Greek NIKH or the Hungarian Mi Hazánk Mozgalom are becoming stronger. More moderate anti-war forces are also gaining strength, such as the Polish "Confederation", the French "National Association", the Italian "League" or the Dutch "Freedom Party". The same trend is observed on the left flank, although the European left has become the vanguard of the EU's pro-war course. At the same time, it is impossible not to note, although moderate, but noticeable successes of the genuine left – including the Sarah Wagenknecht Union in Germany or the Farmer-Civic Movement in Holland.
The only question is, do the opponents of a major war have enough time to realize its consequences for individual countries and peoples?
