Criticism of US & NATO – Pro-Russian Arguments on “Peace Summit”

In a taped speech, Sachs said the war in Ukraine was a disaster due to the unyielding arrogance, pressure, provocation and rejection of United States diplomatic proposals. It could also have been prevented countless times over the past 30 years. And nine years ago – after the change of power after the Maidan in Kiev in 2014 – the war should not have broken out because the US should not worry about the violent overthrow of other governments. “But this is bad practice in the United States,” Sachs said.

NATO’s eastern expansion is said to be responsible for the war in Ukraine
The star speaker complained that diplomatic offers from Russia to avoid war were rejected by the United States in December 2021 and March 2022, blaming the US for NATO’s eastern expansion of NATO as largely responsible for the events. “Our mainstream media is telling the wrong story, that this war started with an ‘unprovoked invasion’ of Putin on February 24, 2022,” said the prominent economist, who recently denounced Western media coverage when speaking to the Russia’s foremost propagandist, Vladimir Solovyov. .

However, in his 24-minute presentation, the American avoided criticizing Russian President Vladimir Putin and his decisions; his arguments were largely reminiscent of statements made by official representatives of Russia.

Like Sachs, other international participants argued at the start of the event, organized by left-wing NGOs, most of whom initially spoke via video. Indian university professor Anuradha Chenoy stressed that the global south is on the side of the peace movement. This part of the world wants to be neutral in the dispute between the West and Russia, is interested in good relations with Russia and sees most of the responsibility for the war in Ukraine in the hands of the US and NATO. said. “On the day the West wants it, peace can come,” said the humanities scholar specializing in Russia.

Ceasefire comes with high costs
However, participants from the regions affected by the current war showed a clearly differentiated picture. While Ukrainian activist Kateryna Radtschenko, who lives in Austria, and pacifist Yuri Schelljaschenko, who joined from Kyiv, were applauded in the hall for calls for an unconditional ceasefire, Nina Potarska, who also videotaped from abroad, interrupted that such a step can also entail high costs. “A truce now would mean accepting that families will never reunite: the line of contact would become a divisive border,” she said. It is also not enough to be against the war and sing songs about it in a safe place, she stressed.

Russian engineer Oleg Bodrov warned of the danger of nuclear power plants in armed conflicts and outlined the dramatic situation of civil society in Russia. He denounced the 24-hour state media promoting the “special military operation” and the fact that independent media had to be shut down or now work in exile. At the request of APA, Bodrow criticized his previous speaker Sachs’s appearances on Vladimir Solovyov on Russian state television. “I consider Solovyov to be the leading organ of imperial propaganda,” he said.

Replacement venue for “Peace Summit”
The fact that the “Peace Summit” did not take place on the ÖGB premises as originally planned was only a marginal topic at the event itself. The replacement location Lorely-Saal in Vienna-Penzing, which can accommodate some 350 people, was at least occupied to the last seat. After a few speeches, the activists wanted to consult in working groups until Sunday and to present their results on Monday. during a press conference. The ÖGB had the organizers uninvited on Thursday at the request of Ukraine. Ukrainian ambassador Wassyl Chymynets had described some of the announced participants as “Russia’s fifth column”.