Russian President Vladimir Putin implemented his plan and recognized Donetsk and Luhansk as independent republics, and the world changed overnight, and the situation flared up.
It is possible to observe some features of this change. For example, the United States and the West, before Putin’s move, were threatening and claiming that they would take a tough stance if any military intervention took place in Ukraine. But after the Russian strikes, which entered their sixth day and resonated with Kyiv, some Western countries have become dumb. As for the countries that commented on the event, it was as if they revealed their fear of Russia, and by this I mean Germany, which refused to implement measures to expel Russia from the international financial system “SWIFT” because this would harm its national economy. As for France, it insisted on the need to continue diplomatic work with Moscow to avoid escalation! Even Britain, which has implemented economic sanctions and punitive measures against Russian banks and businessmen, has implemented only less than 20% of the targets. As for the United States, which is the largest superpower in the world, what its President Biden said, and his method used in delivering statements was Enough to announce the death of that democratic administration, which has proven to everyone that it is out of service until further notice.
Also among these features are what we watched at Vladimir Putin’s meeting with the Russian National Security Council before he decided to attack. What the cameras intentionally reported in this meeting was the inauguration of Russia’s new tsar. Among a group of senior Russian security officials, Putin tried to listen to their views before recognizing the independence of Luhansk and Donetsk, but two main scenes caught the eye in front of the televised words, the first of which was “taking off his watch” as if he was preparing for his next battle, and the second was his “embarrassment of the intelligence chief”, which proved that he – Putin – is the man The only strong one in this country. The Financial Times considers the choice of the ornate St. Catherine’s Hall of the Order of the Kremlin as the greatest evidence of the restoration of the glories of the Tsar with the Russian Empire.
On the other hand, we find the emergence of a new alliance between yesterday’s enemies, Russia and China, as the latter believes that Moscow’s move can be repeated in its crisis with Taiwan. This alliance will itself be the focus of events during the coming period, not only concerning the issues of the two parties, but it will be the nucleus for creating a new multipolar global order as an alternative to the current system that was controlled by Washington since the fall of the Soviet Union at the end of the eighties of the last century.
Both Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping have expressed their mutual willingness for more close coordination and mutual support at the United Nations, as Xi stressed that he respects the actions of the Russian leadership in the current crisis and that Beijing supports a negotiated settlement between Russia and Ukraine.
Some US officials believe that relations between China and Russia are at their best since the Cold War and that the two sides present themselves as a single front against the United States of America, its allies from the European Union, and other Asian countries. America and the European Union fear that this alignment may reach a higher level after the Ukrainian crisis, in parallel with the escalation of tension and strategic competition between the United States and China. And according to what was reported by news agencies, quoting US officials, during the recent talks between China and the United States, they sensed a hostile tone from their Chinese counterparts, and that Chinese positions had become more tough and hostile.
If the Tsar of Russia is determined to restore the glory of the Czars, there is a danger that Putin may seize this opportunity to move forward, to settle scores in Georgia and Moldova, and this will look much worse for the three Baltic states (Latvia, Estonia, and Lithuania), who will join the delayed retaliatory list that Caesar had previously talked about in previous dialogues.
History reminds us that on 4 February 1945, the Yalta Agreement on the Black Sea was signed between the Soviet Union led by Joseph Stalin, the United States led by Roosevelt, and Britain led by Winston Churchill. This is the agreement that established the bipolar system that ruled the world from that moment until the fall of the Berlin Wall and the disintegration of the Soviet Union. Before the conference, Churchill journalists were asked why Stalin would attend, and he said, “He will not have a role in the new world, but he came to enjoy the scenic views in Yalta. The conference ended and the shocking result was that Churchill did not have any role in the new system and was left empty-handed and he was the one who alone enjoyed the natural charms in the Black Sea… Now it seems that there are some of the world’s first leaders who are experiencing Churchill’s experience!
Hatem Sadek: Professor at Helwan University
