West seeks to contain Russian influence as tensions rise over Ukraine – diplomat on NATO Summit

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyyi and US President Joe Biden during a meeting at the NATO summit in Vilnius, July 12, 2023

Diplomat and international expert Ruslan Osypenko has cautioned Ukraine against harboring any illusions about the strength of its international support, saying challenging times are on the horizon.

In an interview with Radio NV on July 12, Osypenko strongly criticized the NATO Summit in Vilnius, one of the major geopolitical events of the year, referring to it as a combination of “Budapest and Bucharest 2.0 in one glass.”

“Geopolitically, both Russia and China have received a signal that Ukraine will remain within Russia’s sphere of interest, and negotiations will also be pursued with China. This essentially marks an exchange of interests and, unfortunately, initiates the process for another war,” warned the diplomat.

According to Osypenko, Russia “retains its status as an empire because it serves the interests of the United States,” which signifies the United States’ willingness to negotiate and detach Russia from China.

Read also: NATO should have made it clear to Kremlin that taking Ukraine was impossible — exLithuanian PM

“In effect, we find ourselves in a gray area between Russia and Europe. This will also impact our negotiations with the EU,” Osypenko said.

The diplomat added that Ukrainians may be offered the “bittersweet pill” of accelerated EU accession and “semi-guarantees” to eventually exit Russia’s sphere of influence by becoming EU members, but this may not necessarily happen.

“It depends on Europe and the United States, on their desires. If they consider us to be insufficiently reformed and democratized, progress in this process will be challenging. If we continue to face pressure from NATO and the US, they hold leverage over us, and advancing within the EU will be difficult,” he said.

Osypenko emphasized that during the Vilnius summit, the West “displayed weakness” and “demonstrated a desire to negotiate with the Devil.”

“Unfortunately, it seems they are negotiating at the expense of our interests,” Osypenko said.

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“Therefore, we are bracing for challenging times and must dispel any illusions, focusing on strengthening our state, Armed Forces, and institutions of power within. We should not solely rely on our partners; the key to success lies with the Ukrainian people. Ukrainians are currently engaged in the most important task – defending the democratic world and the values proclaimed by the West. Today, the brave sons and daughters of Ukraine are sacrificing their lives for these norms and standards. So, let us continue doing our part and have fewer expectations of our partners. Their assistance is appreciated, and we are grateful, but we must dispel any illusions. The West has made its stance clear.”

Read also: Ukraine will join NATO; Putin already lost – Biden

According to Osypenko, the West’s indication of a willingness to negotiate with Russia creates the conditions for another war.

“If we remain within Russia’s sphere of influence, and NATO signals that, then Russia will inevitably return to assert its influence, as they have done in the past,” Osypenko cautioned, highlighting that war is a matter of existential significance for Ukraine, but not for the West.

“It was the same after the Khasavyurt agreements in Chechnya. After losing the first war, (Russia) returned and fought to seize and subdue Chechnya. They will harbor such revanchist sentiments.”

According to UK newspaper Guardian, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov stated in late December 2022 that Russian officials should prepare for a “very, very long war” against Ukraine.

In September 2022, Chief Commander of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Valerii Zaluzhnyi, in an interview with U.S. weekly news magazine Time, stated that a victory by the Ukrainian Armed Forces in the war against Russia would not be definitive.

“Knowing what I know about the Russians, our victory will not be definitive. It will give us the opportunity to regroup and prepare for the next war,” Zaluzhnyi told Time.

NATO members gathered for the summit in Vilnius, Lithuania, on July 11-12. Delegations from Japan, South Korea, New Zealand, Australia, Ukraine, and Sweden were also present, with Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy also in attendance.

On July 11, NATO countries in a joint communique expressed that Ukraine would be invited to join the Alliance once all member countries agree and requisite conditions are met.

Read also: To join NATO, Ukraine must first weed out Russian agents – Lithuania

NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg indicated that Ukraine no longer needs to fulfill the Membership Action Plan, effectively saying that Kyiv will be able to ultimately join the defensive alliance on an expedited procedure.

On July 12, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy expressed his belief that Ukraine would receive an invitation to joinNATO after the war.

G7 leaders also announced a new set of “security guarantees” for Ukraine, focusing on equipping the Ukrainian military to be able to deter any future Russian aggression.

Meanwhile, former UK PM Boris Johnson saidhe viewed the conclusions from the Vilnius summit as “no firmer or more convincing than NATO’s Bucharest conclusions of 2008.” Consequently, he said, “no wonder President Zelenskyy found it hard, at first, to conceal his frustration.”

“When allies agree? When conditions are met? According to the Bucharest conclusions, the allies agreed all this 15 years ago!” Johnson added.

“When will we learn the lesson of the past 20 years of handling Putin? It is our very ambiguity, our vacillation, our sucking-and-blowing-at-once, which prompted him to invade.”

Johnson urged NATO to provide Ukraine with a definite timeline for membership as swiftly as possible.

He added that London is working behind the scenes to attain this objective.

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Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine