The key thesis of dictators Putin and Xi Jinping over the past decade has been a multipolar world. In other words, global feudalism instead of international law and complete impunity for regional dictators. And given that the main theme of Western leaders’ speeches is a “just peace” through negotiations, we can say that the dictators have succeeded in shaping the world they dreamed of.
The dictators wanted the West and the international community to treat them not as international criminals, but as equals with whom they should negotiate on mutually beneficial terms. To do so, they used the old criminal method of problem-solving. First, a problem is created, and then the criminal bargains to solve it or reduce its consequences, making a good profit. The West, torn apart by decades of peace and development, with a weak system of social values, is afraid of war and is not ready for a clash with Russia, let alone China. And even after the first unambiguous signals of a possible war in the future, it is not ready to put its social values and priorities, economy, and even its armies on high alert. Some thinking Western officials point to the threat, but the majority of those who do not want to change anything, deepen their own comfort, and want to delegate authority to someone to negotiate and delay the war prevail.
Therefore, instead of a tough response, international criminals are offered negotiations at the highest geopolitical level. Translated into the language of ordinary citizens, this means that instead of a courtroom, the police and a judge shake hands with a maniacal killer and discuss “zones of influence” and the limits of compromise regarding his ability to commit further crimes. This is exactly what is being offered to the Kremlin dictator, who has been convicted by an international court.
The leaders of the United States and European countries do not declare the inevitability of punishment for an international criminal, but hope to reach a compromise with him. Instead of forcing the criminal to return the stolen goods – the occupied Ukrainian territories – they try to negotiate with him, allowing him to keep them in exchange for “no more in the future.” What seems absurd even at the level of the first grade of school is becoming a reality for world leaders on a global scale. All the statements of Western leaders in recent months are not aimed at the triumph of the values they have talked about so much, but at opportunistic agreements and compromises with evil.
Any option for ending the Russian-Ukrainian war without the 1991 borders recognized by the international community would be a spit in the face of the international community and the existing international order. Even if this community claims that it was not spit on, or that it was raining, the weakness of Western leaders and societies will be obvious to Putin and Xi Jinping. Regardless of whether Ukraine is provided with more weapons or British and Polish troops come to the demarcation line, if the stolen goods are left to the criminal and shaken hands with him in negotiations, this is the collapse of international law and the existing world order. After that, the world will be left with only the right of the strongest, only relations based on the formula of vassalage and domination, which will mean outbreaks of new military conflicts and global escalation.
The only possible solution that will show the “Axis of Dictatorships” the strong position of the West is to admit Ukraine to NATO as a signal to international criminals: we do not stand aside, but take the victim country under our protection. Only a demonstration of the power of “kindness with fists” will stop further arrogance of aggressive regimes. The outcome of the Russian-Ukrainian war will be a test of the possibility of preserving democracy in the world and the answer to the question: will World War III begin?
Author: Valeriy Maydanyuk
