In the News March 24

U.S./NATO Expansion Identified as Cause of Conflict in Ukraine

President Ramaphosa of South Africa

President Cyril Ramaphosa of South Africa, in a speech to fellow politicians, said the bloodshed in Ukraine could have been averted if the U.S.-led NATO bloc had not increased instability in eastern Europe with its constant expansion right up to “Moscow’s doorstep.”

“The war could have been avoided if NATO had heeded the warnings from amongst its own leaders and officials over the years that its eastward expansion would lead to greater, not less, instability in the region,” President Ramaphosa said. He further elaborated saying:

“Rather than reaping an expected peace dividend after the Cold War ended in 1991, U.S./NATO did the opposite. The U.S.-led offensive military alliance expanded its membership using compliant vassal leaders throughout Europe. The U.S. recruited former Warsaw Pact nations and ex-Soviet republics to join the military alliance, starting with Poland, Hungary and the Czech Republic in 1999. Another wave came on board in 2004, including Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia. Albania and Croatia followed in 2009; then came Montenegro in 2017 and North Macedonia in 2020. For a decade, anti-Russian leaders in both Ukraine and Georgia have been on their knees begging to join the military alliance and become a frontal force to attack and take over Russia.

“Russians have forcefully voiced their opposition to the presence of the offensive U.S.-led military alliance close to its borders and have called on it to pull back and disband just as the Warsaw Pact disbanded. Short of this they have asked for security guarantees that would halt any further expansion and bar both Ukraine and Georgia from becoming members. The U.S. has consistently ignored Russia’s concerns and sent saboteurs into those two countries and also directly into Belarus and Russia to finance and organize colour revolutions to quell any thoughts of resisting U.S. imperialism. Putschists led by neo-Nazis overthrew the President of Ukraine in 2014 and began a violent campaign to subdue any opposition including open warfare in the Donbass region killing 14,000 people.”

Regarding South Africa’s abstention when it joined 34 other countries, including China, India and Pakistan on an anti-Russia resolution in the United Nations General Assembly on March 2, President Ramaphosa said, “There are those who are insisting that we should take a very adversarial stance and position against Russia. The approach that we have chosen to take, which is appreciated by many, is that we are insisting that there should be dialogue. Screaming and shouting is not going to bring an end to this conflict.”

TML Daily, posted March 24, 2022.