Historically, alliances between nations are not new. In fact, it is as old as the world itself, as God came into alliance with man to actualise His dreams for mankind; but when an alliance with one becomes inimical to another, such needs to be reviewed.
The current peace talks among world leaders about Israel and Palestine on ceasefire and the compliance between both parties are cheering to the world, although the refugee problem, we believe, will be solved in the nearest future.
“One man directly commands the largest nuclear arsenal in the history of mankind, with the power to extirpate almost all human life.”
Even though some have said the fear/respect for the new US President Donald Trump has led to this compliance, world leaders have left a weightier issue that has directly and indirectly led to hunger in most parts of the world.
After Batista’s overthrow in 1959, Fidel Castro assumed military and political power as Cuba’s prime minister. With Cuba’s proximity to the United States, Castro and his regime became an important Cold War ally for the Soviets. The relationship was, for the most part, economic, with the Soviet Union providing military, economic, and political assistance to Cuba. This alliance led to the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962, when a tough Communist leader, Nikita Khrushchev, at the head of the Soviet Union, faced off against a young President John Kennedy of the USA. The issue was the Soviet Union’s decision, at the behest of Fidel Castro’s government, to install missiles in Cuba. The prospect of having Russian missiles on its doorsteps was totally unacceptable to the USA.
Resolution came after some days of high tension and fear of a World War 3; both men listened to reasons after high-power delegations and talks from all over the world. None of them lost face, and the world was saved. The USSR took back its missiles. America took down some missiles it had installed in various parts of Europe and other places.
Read also: How Nigeria’s diplomatic influence waned in global affairs — Christopher Kolade
Let’s come to the issue at hand, and as written by Femi Olugbile, a columnist in an article, As the world lurches towards Armageddon …, it would be a shame if the world as we know it was to come to a screeching halt in a haze of post-nuclear detritus over a battle to see who blinks first, between a comedian just lately come into politics and a dour, macho former spy and practicing bully who has a vice-like grip on his nation. It would be an even worse tragedy to know that neither of the two men is telling ‘the truth’ as they stand at the arrowhead of destructive forces such as the world has never seen.
One man directly commands the largest nuclear arsenal in the history of mankind, with the power to extirpate almost all human life. The other, wringing the emotions of the Western world artfully with a show of righteousness and an exclusive ownership of ‘just cause,’ has the arsenals of Europe and America ranged on his side and maintains his grip on their conscience by continually reminding the world of his victimhood. So well has he succeeded so far that it is virtually impossible to have a reasoned debate in the public space without the dissenter being howled down by a passionate mob of well-meaning Ukrainian supporters.
Knowingly or unknowingly, Ukraine has morphed from a local conflict into a proxy war between East (as represented by Russia) and West (Ukraine and its backers).
The public rhetoric may be sanctimonious, especially on the part of the Ukrainian Zelensky and his cohorts. But some of the symbolism used by those in the know is highly instructive and reveals the flaw in the high-minded pretensions of some of the most fervent supporters of the Ukrainian cause.
World leaders should be able to pause now to ask, ‘What do Putin and Zelensky really want? And above all, what is the way out of this dangerous situation?’
Today, just as well-meaning individuals have intervened to bring about the ceasefire in the Middle East, the talk should no longer be about teaching Russia a lesson. Economic warfare has brought more woes on other continents than sanctioned. For Zelensky and his backers, urging the world to boycott anyone that supports or arms Russia is an unbalanced narrative because nobody is talking about ‘sanctioning’ those who support and arm Ukraine.
Who will save the world by beginning the negotiations to end this backwater war before it is too late for everybody? asked Olugbile.
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