Russia

Image: Chart for the political system of Russia. CC BY-SA 4.0

Russia's Exit from Western Dominated Organizations—Consequences Far from Certain

By Kester Kenn Klomegah*

MOSCOW (IDN) — After the historic fall of the Soviet era, all the 16 former Soviet republics including Russia and Ukraine dreamed of raising their status by joining international organizations. Over the past three decades, Russia became a member of many global bodies, participating actively at the United Nations. It joined the Greater Eurasia Union, BRICS—a group of states comprising Brazil, India, China and South Africa—and the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO).

: Kester Kenn Klomegah; THE WORLD; Russia; 12 March 2022

Photo: TS Tirumurti, India's permanent representative to the UN, said India chose to abstain on the UNSC resolution on Ukraine because the path of diplomacy was given up. Credit: ANI | HT_PRINT

Ukraine-Russia Conflict: India Re-Asserts Strategic Autonomy

Viewpoint by Shastri Ramachandaran *

NEW DELHI (IDN) — Washington has failed to push India into taking a stand against Moscow in the ongoing US-Russia confrontation, where Ukraine is a victim of both the superpowers. The Russian invasion of Ukraine is indefensible, as war or the use of military force is unacceptable as a means of dispute resolution. Equally indefensible is the US and the US-led West using Ukraine as bait to set the bear trap of the war, in which Russia has now got snared.

: Shastri Ramachandaran; THE WORLD; South Asia; 11 March 2022

Image: Destruction in Ukraine caused by the Russian invasion. Source: The Daily Star.

The Ukraine Crisis Amid Fractured International Legal Order — Hypocrisy of the Powerful

Viewpoint by M Rafiqul Islam

The writer is Emeritus Professor of Law, Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia. This article was issued by The Daily Star of Bangladesh and is being republished with their permission.

SYDNEY (IDN) — The ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine once again has solicited world attention to the international legal order that has repeatedly been fractured by powerful states in the post-cold war era. Obviously, the Russian invasion of Ukraine is illegal in international law and a clear violation of the peremptory norm of prohibition of force in international relations and non-intervention under Article 2(4) of the UN Charter.

: Opinion Editor; OPINION; 10 March 2022

Photo: Euromaidan crowds in Kyiv on 19 February 2014. CC BY 3.0

How the U.S. Has Empowered and Armed 'Neo-Nazis' in Ukraine

Viewpoint by Medea Benjamin and Nicolas J.S. Davies*

NEW YORK (IDN) — Russian President Putin has claimed that he ordered the invasion of Ukraine to “denazify” its government, while Western officials, such as former U.S. Ambassador to Moscow Michael McFaul, have called this pure propaganda, insisting, “There are no Nazis in Ukraine.”

: Opinion Editor; THE WORLD; Russia; 10 March 2022

The World is Plunging into a Dangerous New Cold War 2.0

Viewpoint by Dr Joseph Gerson

The writer is President of the Campaign for Peace, Disarmament and Common Security

NEW YORK (IDN) — Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and Putin’s repeated tense threats to resort to genocidal nuclear attacks if the West intervenes more directly in Ukraine must be universally condemned and opposed.

Despite Putin having told President Macron that he intends to take all of Ukraine, as demonstrations today are demanding, we must press for an immediate ceasefire, withdrawal of all foreign troops from Ukraine and negotiations.

: UN Bureau; OPINION; 09 March 2022

Are we Heading Toward WWIII & Nuclear War?

Viewpoint by Alice Slater

The writer serves on the Boards of World Beyond War, the Global Network Against Weapons and Nuclear Power in Space. She is also the UN NGO representative for the Nuclear Age Peace Foundation.

NEW YORK (IDN) — It has become unbearable to observe the western media, in the grip of corrupt military contractors, wielding their undue influence on the unknowing victims of the media “news” reports as they publicly and shamelessly celebrate their enormous profits this year from the billions of dollars in weapons they are selling to keep the Ukraine war going.

: Opinion Editor; OPINION; 09 March 2022

Photo: Henry Kissinger played a leading role in U.S. diplomatic and military policy during the Vietnam War. Source: Wikimedia Commons.

The Concept of A 'Common European House' Shouldn't Be Consigned to Oblivion

Viewpoint by Jonathan Power

LUND, Sweden (IDN) — The Russian European dreamers have included Pushkin, Lenin, Gorbachev and, until relatively recently, President Vladimir Putin. They have all seen their country’s future as part of the “European house”. But history and events have not been kind to Russia. Napoleon’s invasion, revolution, two world wars including Hitler’s invasion, almost up to the gates of Moscow as was Napoleon’s, Stalin’s communism and, most recently, the expansion of NATO, have shattered the dream again and again.

: Jonathan Power; OPINION; 08 March 2022

Image: Nuclear warfare is a common theme of World War III scenarios. Such a conflict has been hypothesized to result in human extinction. Source: Wikimedia Commons.

Is World War III a Nuclear Reality or an Empty Threat?

By Thalif Deen

UNITED NATIONS (IDN) — A Russian news agency quoted on March 2 Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov’s dire warning: If a third world war (WWIII) breaks out, it would involve nuclear weapons—and be destructive.

At a virtual Geneva meeting on disarmament, he also hinted that Ukraine has been seeking nuclear weapons to counter the Russian invasion—a rumour that remains unconfirmed.

: Thalif Deen; Nuclear Weapoms; 08 March 2022

Photo: Russian-made Su-30K fighter jets sold to Ethiopia. Source: Horn Affairs

Traditional Ties Earn Russia African Countries' Silence in Critical UN Vote

By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network

NEW YORK (IDN) — “If you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor.” Those were the prophetic words of the late Archbishop Desmond Tutu, recalled now by influencers on social media pressing South Africa to cut or reduce old “friendly ties” with Russia.

: Global Information Network; THE WORLD; Russia; 08 March 2022

Image: Returning refugees survey the destroyed downtown of Pec, Kosovo, on Saturday, July 3, 1999. Northfoto/Shutterstock

Putin may be Executing the NATO Playbook from 1999, not Hitler’s from the 1930s

Viewpoint by Ramesh Thakur

This article was issued by the Toda Peace Institute and is being republished with their permission.

CANBERRA, Australia (IDN) — There are two competing narratives about Russia’s push into Ukraine. One holds that President Vladimir Putin has adopted Hitler’s playbook over Sudetenland and failing to check his aggression will fall into the trap of the appeasement at Munich in 1938. The alternative holds that Putin is executing the NATO playbook in Kosovo in 1999.