Proceedings of NATO War Summit
NATO Prepares Further Disasters for Ukraine and Its People
Going into its Washington Summit, NATO made clear that its priority was to continue using Ukraine and its people to fight a proxy war with Russia. For all of the high-sounding words of U.S. President Joe Biden, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and others who claim to defend Ukraine and its people, the feigned concern for the well-being of the Ukrainian people is merely to put a humanitarian face on NATO's aim to confront and wage war on Russia at any cost. There is no Plan B or exit strategy and thus NATO will wage this war until the last Ukrainian falls.
The
summit declaration claims, "A strong, independent, and
democratic
Ukraine is vital for the security and stability of the
Euro-Atlantic
area. Ukraine's fight for its independence, sovereignty, and
territorial integrity within its internationally recognized
borders
directly contributes to
Euro-Atlantic security." NATO was founded to wage war, it is not
a
peacekeeping force and its aim is not to bring stability. It is
not
based on negotiations but on subterfuge and aggression. One need
look
no further than the U.S.-sponsored coup to bring in a
reactionary
anti-Russia and pro-Nazi
government in 2014, which then set about attacking its
Russian-speaking
citizens in eastern Ukraine with neo-Nazi forces. This situation
led
the people in Crimea to hold a referendum in which they decided
to join
Russia, while those in the Donbass later declared two
independent
republics.
The summit's declaration says NATO has "[d]ecided to establish the NATO Security Assistance and Training for Ukraine (NSATU) to coordinate the provision of military equipment and training for Ukraine by Allies and partners. Its aim is to place security assistance to Ukraine on an enduring footing, ensuring enhanced, predictable, and coherent support." It is well-known that NATO countries which provided cruise missiles to Ukraine earlier this year -- with which it is now attacking Russian territory outside the conflict zone -- are also providing the electronic guidance and targeting information for those missiles. When the peoples of the world are holding responsible for genocide all those who supply materiel to the Israel Defense Forces to wage its genocidal war on Gaza, NATO's claim that "NSATU will not, under international law, make NATO a party to the conflict" does not hold water.
As NATO countries cannot provide the artillery shells and other ammunition that Ukraine requires, they are instead sending more and more missile systems into Ukraine, some of which are now being used to strike Russia directly. A July 8 report by a Dutch-based investigative journalism collective says that six months after a promise from the European Union (EU) that it would expand production to provide Ukraine with 1.3 million shells by year end that figure is a gross exaggeration and a "fantasy," and that the EU will only be able to produce less than half of that amount. In the absence of sufficient ammunition for Ukraine, NATO's recourse to missile-based firepower to provide more powerful and dangerous weapons to fight a losing battle is a dangerous escalation of the conflict. In related news, on July 10, new UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer of the Labour Party indicated there will be no change of policy from that of the Conservative government of Rishi Sunak, in that Ukraine can continue to deploy British Stormshadow cruise missiles as it sees fit including striking at targets within Russian territory.
The summit's declaration asserts that "Ukraine's future is in NATO. Ukraine has become increasingly interoperable and politically integrated with the Alliance. We welcome the concrete progress Ukraine has made since the Vilnius Summit on its required democratic, economic, and security reforms. As Ukraine continues this vital work, we will continue to support it on its irreversible path to full Euro-Atlantic integration, including NATO membership. We reaffirm that we will be in a position to extend an invitation to Ukraine to join the Alliance when Allies agree and conditions are met. The Summit decisions by NATO and the NATO-Ukraine Council, combined with Allies' ongoing work, constitute a bridge to Ukraine's membership in NATO."
With NATO membership, Ukraine would then have recourse to Article 5 of the NATO charter to draw all NATO members into a direct and open conflict with Russia. However, the suggestion that Ukraine's institutions have become more democratic, less corrupt and more suitable to qualify for membership since the Vilnius Summit is poppycock which shows once again the house of cards on which NATO claims are based. Furthermore, NATO membership is opposed by the U.S. where, among other things, leading Republicans virulently oppose more funding for Ukraine in favour of using it in their anti-immigrant campaign and the U.S. assigned a mere three-star general to oversee Ukraine's progress. It is also opposed by Germany which is not a minor matter. Furthermore, there is a blatant contradiction between giving Ukraine NATO membership and claiming that all of NATO's direct assistance to Ukraine to wage war does not make NATO a party to the conflict.
Meanwhile, NATO members such as Türkiye and now Hungary have broken ranks and are actively promoting negotiations as the means to resolve the conflict on the basis of mutual respect for the security concerns of all states, Russia included.
NATO also announced a "Pledge of Long-Term Security Assistance for Ukraine for the provision of military equipment, assistance, and training" at a minimum of 40 billion euros or U.S.$43 billion within the next year. Contributions are said to be proportional, based on GDP. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg had originally sought an ongoing multi-year pledge. While the details of the pledge have not been revealed, Ukrainska Pravda, reporting on the matter on June 27, said NATO members "may be able to reach a deal if the 40 billion euros in aid to Ukraine is deducted from NATO's existing commitment to spend at least two per cent of GDP on defence, the sources said. However, this could lead to a reduction in the allies' own defence spending, especially if finance ministries do not agree to raise the overall level of spending."
Following the NATO summit, a meeting of the NATO-Ukraine Council was held. A statement issued by the council, besides reiterating the usual anti-Russia disinformation and self-congratulatory remarks, elaborated on some of the decisions taken at the summit. It said:
"As we continue to intensify our cooperation and strengthen Ukraine's political integration with NATO, the Alliance is reinforcing the NATO Representation to Ukraine (NRU), and the Secretary General has decided to appoint a NATO Senior Representative to head the NRU and to act as a focal point for NATO's engagement with Ukrainian authorities in Kyiv."
It also elaborated on how Ukraine's security and defence sector is being "brought up to code" to purchase and use NATO weaponry and tactics. Presumably corruption in Ukraine remains a major concern for NATO, insofar as wanting to make sure funds it provides to Ukraine to buy arms go to the right people and that the arms are purchased from the right companies:
"We have made significant progress in our ongoing cooperation, including through the Comprehensive Assistance Package (CAP) for Ukraine, to strengthen and rebuild the Ukrainian security and defence sector, support Ukraine's deterrence and defence in the long term, and transition Ukraine to full interoperability with NATO. To that end:
"- We have jointly developed initial NATO Interoperability Requirements, making full use of NATO-related defence planning processes and tools, to inform and support Ukraine's security and defence sector reforms and enable the long-term interoperability of our forces.
"- We are working together to bring Ukraine's defence procurement in line with Euro-Atlantic best practices through the Strategic Defence Procurement Review.
"- We will work together to identify and apply lessons from Russia's war against Ukraine, including on resilience, in the newly established Joint Analysis, Training, and Education Centre (JATEC) in Poland. As a joint NATO-Ukraine structure, JATEC will serve as an important pillar of practical cooperation and increase Ukraine's interoperability with NATO.
"- We are launching new joint activities to support Ukraine's self-defence through the first NATO-Ukraine Innovation Cooperation Roadmap.
"- NATO will continue to support Ukraine's self-defence with urgently needed non-lethal equipment and supplies through the CAP, and we welcome partner contributions."
Thus NATO will continue to hand over billions of dollars to war profiteers to ship weapons into Ukraine, trading still more Ukrainian lives to guarantee profits to the arms producers. Even though Ukraine has no hope of prevailing, the fate of Ukraine and its people are not on NATO's agenda except as an instrument of U.S./NATO hegemonic aims and aggression against Russia.
Meeting Between Trudeau and Zelensky
Prime
Minister Justin Trudeau met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr
Zelensky
at the summit. A press release from the Prime Minister's Office
stated
that Trudeau "reaffirmed Canada's ongoing and unwavering support
for
Ukraine. He noted Canada's commitment to provide an additional
$500
million in
military assistance to Ukraine as part of NATO's Pledge of
Long-Term
Security Assistance for Ukraine, as well as further support to
enhance
F-16 training for Ukrainian pilots through the Ukraine Defense
Contact
Group Air Force Capability Coalition."
These two sorry excuses for leaders are said to have "noted the need to continue building on the success of the recent Summit on Peace in Ukraine in Lucerne, Switzerland, on June 15 to 16, 2024, including Canada's commitment to host a Ministerial event on Working Group Four to discuss the return of prisoners of war, unlawfully detained civilians, and illegally deported children." This is all very disinforming and cynical on the part of Trudeau and Zelensky. The summit in Switzerland, organized at the behest of Ukraine, saw fit to not invite Russia, and did less than nothing to advance the cause of peace in Ukraine.[1] As concerns "prisoners of war, unlawfully detained civilians, and illegally deported children," it is blatantly obvious that such things only merit comment by the Prime Minister when it comes to justifying U.S./NATO aggression and war.[2] Meanwhile, the Prime Minister has no qualms about supporting and contributing to Israel's crimes against the Palestinians, because doing so also serves U.S. imperialist aims in that part of the world.
Working people in Canada and Quebec should reject Canada's involvement in NATO and the U.S./NATO proxy war in Ukraine.
Notes
1. A "Global Summit on Peace in Ukraine" took place in Switzerland on June 15-16 purportedly to address the prospects for peace in the U.S./NATO proxy war in Ukraine. Switzerland organized the summit, said to have done so at the request of Ukraine, and invited more than 160 countries to participate, with 91 countries ultimately attending. Canada took part, with its delegation led by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
Notable Absence of
Russia and China
Pointedly, the list of invitees did not include Russia. Switzerland said that it "repeatedly signaled its openness to extending an invitation to Russia for the Summit on Peace in Ukraine. However, Russia has indicated many times that it has no interest in participating. Therefore, no formal invitation was issued to Russia." It also said that despite not inviting Russia it still considers itself to be "neutral" and that it "is convinced that Russia must be involved in this process. A peace process without Russia is unthinkable." However, after two years of the U.S./NATO proxy war in Ukraine, it says at least an attempt must be made to start a peace process. "The alternative would be to do nothing which is not an option for Switzerland."
From this it can be concluded that the summit organizers consider Russia's many calls for peace negotiations to be "nothing."
On May 31, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning, in response to a question at a routine press briefing, explained why China had decided not to participate. She stated:
"China always maintains that the international peace conference needs to meet the three important elements of recognition from both Russia and Ukraine, equal participation of all parties, and fair discussion of all peace plans. Otherwise, the peace conference can hardly play a substantive role for restoring peace. These elements proposed by China are fair, legitimate and do not target any party. They are written into the Common Understandings on Political Settlement of the Ukraine Crisis jointly issued by China and Brazil recently and reflect the universal concern of the international community, especially the vast developing countries.
"Based on what we have heard from various parties and the released arrangement for the meeting, it doesn't seem that the three elements proposed by China will be met. There is an apparent gap between the meeting's arrangement and what China stands for as well as the universal expectation in the international community. In this case, China is hardly able to take part in the meeting and has informed relevant parties of our consideration and concerns. We will continue to promote talks for peace in our own way, maintain communication with all parties and jointly accumulate conditions for the political settlement of the Ukraine crisis."
Of the 91 countries that took part, delegations from all 32
NATO member countries were present, so although NATO was not an
official participant it can be said to have been represented.
Conference Agenda and Outcome
The conference website said the proceedings would "build on the discussions that have taken place in recent months, notably the Ukrainian peace formula and other peace proposals based on the UN Charter and key principles of international law. The overarching objective of the summit is to inspire a future peace process. To achieve this, the summit said it would:
- Provide a platform for dialogue on ways towards a comprehensive, just and lasting peace for Ukraine based on international law and the UN Charter;
- Promote a common understanding of a possible framework to reach this goal;
- Jointly define a road map on how to involve both parties in a future peace process.
"The participation of a wide range of states and their contributions to the discussion will be crucial to reach these goals. Switzerland has a long tradition of promoting dialogue. Thus, it considers the exchange of different views on the way to peace in Ukraine of vital importance."
The Ukrainian peace formula refers to a 10-point plan issued in November 2022. It is notably one-sided in that all obligations are on Russia. Meanwhile, it covers up the dirty role of NATO to stoke conflict with Russia, saying nothing about Russia's longstanding concerns about NATO expansion. Nor does Ukraine's "peace formula" say anything about the protection of Russian-speaking Ukrainian citizens in eastern Ukraine, who following the 2014 CIA-backed Maidan coup faced increasingly deadly attacks from the Ukrainian military and the reactionary and neo-Nazi battalions organized by various oligarchs. This "peace formula" also calls for the "Restoration of the Russia-Ukraine border to that prior to the 2014 annexation of Crimea," even though the people of Crimea freely voted to leave Ukraine and join the Russian Federation.
On what basis could Russia agree to participate in such discussions where even if it were to be present, it would be de facto excluded because its calls for negotiations are deemed to be "nothing" while the framework imposed on discussions is not based on reality?
Russia's position that without its participation the conference would be meaningless is borne out by the lack of any concrete outcome from the summit. The final communiqué claimed that there was "a fruitful, comprehensive and constructive exchange of various views on pathways towards a framework for a comprehensive, just and lasting peace, based on international law, including the United Nations Charter." It was only signed by 77 countries out of 91 countries present. Brazil, India and South Africa (which with Russian and China make up the BRICS bloc of countries) as well as Armenia, Bahrain, the Holy See, Indonesia, Libya, Mexico, Saudi Arabia, Thailand and the United Arab Emirates did not sign it. The signatures of Jordan, Iraq and Rwanda which were originally included were removed by the time the final document was published according to the Kyiv Independent.
Colombian president Gustavo Petro, who was slated to attend the summit, withdrew at the last minute, claiming the conference was not a free forum to discuss the path to peace between Russia and Ukraine and that its conclusions were already predetermined. "I am cancelling my trip to the meeting in Switzerland and ask Europe to talk [about] how to end the war, not prolong it," he wrote on his X account.
In the summit's closing address Viola Amherd, President of the Swiss Confederation, said:
"These are the concrete goals we have set ourselves and which we will all work towards:
- Firstly, any use of nuclear energy and nuclear installations must be safe, secured, safeguarded and environmentally sound.
- Secondly, food security must not be weaponized in any way. Attacks on merchant ships in ports and along the entire route, as well as against civilian ports and civilian port infrastructure, are unacceptable.
- Thirdly, all prisoners of war must be released by complete exchange. All deported and unlawfully displaced Ukrainian children, and all other Ukrainian civilians who were unlawfully detained, must be returned to Ukraine."
In a similarly "concrete" fashion, Amherd stated, "One key question remains: How and when can Russia be included in the process? We have heard it in many of your statements. A lasting solution must involve both parties."
The lack of an outcome of this summit underscores that it was a non-starter from the get-go and that negotiations that are not premised on addressing the serious threat posed by the eastward expansion of the aggressive alliance NATO nor the actions against the people of the Donbass by the reactionary forces brought to power by the U.S.-sponsored Maidan coup in 2014 will not result in arrangements that ensure peace for all the peoples of Europe.
2.
Recently, at the "Summit for Peace" which took place in
Obbürgen, Switzerland on June 15 and 16 which was a colossal
flop,
Trudeau told reporters: "Regardless of what a
given person or a given country around the world might think of
the
causes of the war, or the responsibility that Russia wields,
everyone
can agree that taking kids away from their families, trying to
erase
their language, their culture -- that's an element of genocide."
He
added "That's pure colonialism. These are things that Russia
needs to
be accountable for."
His claim that Russia abducted children and is committing
genocide is a Nazi lie concocted by the U.S./NATO disinformation
machine of which Canada's lies have been a major component -- a
lie repeated by one of the UN agencies, all evidence to the
contrary notwithstanding. An example of such blatant lies
is found in a report first published in the Ukrainian newspaper
Ukrainska Pravda, which
reported in April, 2024, that Ukrainian law enforcement officers
had located “161 Ukrainian children in Germany who were being
sought as forcibly displaced to temporarily occupied territories
or deported to Russia and Belarus...." The story does not even
make the claim that the children were ever in Russia.
Nonetheless the headline to the story reads “161 Ukrainian
children abducted by Russia found in Germany.” This story was
reprinted in the western press including Yahoo News Canada and
MSN, with the same headline about Russia abducting the children.
Trudeau’s lie serves to
underscore that he remains silent about the Israeli Zionists'
recognized genocide of the Palestine people, with more than
15,000 of the
known nearly 39,000 people slaughtered in Gaza, since October
2023 alone,
being children. Furthermore, in his capacity as Prime Minister
of
Canada, Trudeau, who disburses public money for war and to pay
the rich
like confetti at a wedding, has yet to make restitution for the
known
genocide of Indigenous children within Canada itself. His claims
to defend Ukrainian children against Russian genocide will see
him burn
in the hell of his own making.
-- Peggy Morton
(With files from NATO, news agencies.)
This article was published in
Volume 54
Number 42 - July 22, 2024
Article Link:
https://cpcml.ca/Tmlm2024/Articles/MS54424.HTM
Website: www.cpcml.ca Email: editor@cpcml.ca