Naveed Miraj
Russia-Ukraine conflict unambiguously shows how fragile the foundations of peace and security are. The continuation of this conflict for a year now is clearly a reflection of the failure of diplomacy apparently because once again the strategic interests and goals of certain important countries are at play-the cost of which is being borne not only by the warring countries but the peoples of the world at large.
The emergency session of the UN General Assembly the other adopted a resolution calling for Russia to completely and unconditionally withdraw its forces from Ukraine.
There is no denying that the conflict is causing immense human suffering in Ukraine and massive damage to its infrastructure, economy and society and all this must stop but the very concerns of the other party especially vis-à-vis expansion of NATO also needs to be listened to on the table of negotiations and addressed.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has long complained the Western alliance has been pushing closer to its borders. Whilst the passage of resolution will be seen by many as a success but in our view, it will not bring any change on the ground until and unless the path of diplomacy and dialogue is pursued.
It is also important to note that thirty-two member countries including China and Pakistan abstained from voting on the resolution. China’s Deputy UN Ambassador Dai Bing very rightly pointed to the fact that brutal facts offer an ample proof that sending weapons to Ukraine will not bring peace, and adding fuel to the fire will only exacerbate tensions.
It is really unfortunate that this time the land of Ukraine is being used as a laboratory to test the latest weapons as well as weaken Russia as a strategic goal. The question arises as for how long such proxy wars will be fought to undercut the other and put the world peace and security at stake.
Diplomacy, Peace and Security
It must be understood that Russia-Ukraine conflict has only been adding to the uncertainty which in turn is triggering volatility in global commodity and financial markets. Both Russia and Ukraine are important agricultural and energy suppliers in the global chain and since they are off the market, this has driven up the prices to all-time highs, fuelling a cost of living crisis in both developed and developing nations.
The worst affected indeed are countries like Pakistan whose economy is already struggling to cope with the balance of payment crisis. Also, the African continent is largely dependent on wheat imports from Russia and disruption in supplies is creating problems for it as well.
The World Food Programme (WFP) says the crisis remains at ‘unprecedented proportions’ with ten times the number of people facing famine compared to five years ago.
In a globalized world, it is inevitable for countries to remain unaffected by modern-day wars. The Russia-Ukraine conflict has exemplified that people around the world are being directly affected by the war. Hence, instead of pursuing strategic goals, sanity must prevail by demonstrating flexibility.
As opposed to increasing the military arsenal on both sides, important capitals especially Washington must come forward and lay the groundwork for negotiations to end the conflict. Obstacles will definitely come in the way but these can be surmounted through collective will and wisdom and persistence. There is a common saying that most wars end with diplomacy, then it should be done now instead of seeing more death and destruction.
