Tuesday, February 18, 2025

Polaris of Enlightenment

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Hungarian Foreign Minister: “Peace has become a dirty word”

The war in Ukraine

Published 30 September 2024
– By Editorial Staff
Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto.

The war between Russia and Ukraine, as well as the conflict in the Middle East, risk escalating and to “undermine global security at any moment”, warned Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto on the sidelines of the Summit of the Future at the UN headquarters in New York.

In his speech on the sidelines of the meeting on Monday, Mr. Szijjarto stressed that humanity is facing two potentially catastrophic scenarios: a third world war or a return to bloc divisions, Tasnim News reports.

Mr. Szijjarto expressed his concern about how the concept of “peace” has been misused in international politics.

He asked the open question whether the global community can avoid this bleak outlook, and whether the majority who claim to be in favor of peace can ensure that the word “peace” itself is not used as a “dirty word in international politics”.

The Foreign Minister also criticized how peace advocates in Europe are met with resistance and stigmatization, especially in relation to the conflict in Ukraine.

– European politicians usually argue in favor of diplomacy and peaceful solutions to certain wars if they are far away from Europe, but nowadays, unfortunately, a war is going on in Europe, and those who argue in favor of peace are immediately stigmatized, attacked and criticized, he said, highlighting that diplomatic solutions should be the focus.

“Peace efforts unacceptable”

Szijjarto highlighted that those calling for diplomacy are often accused of being “Putin’s puppets and Russian spies”, despite the fact that Europe itself is helping to intensify the conflict.

He argued that the international political system needs to undergo a fundamental change, with the UN as a key actor in this process.

– Diplomacy should provide the tools for international policy-making, which should be based on dialogue… We must cease attempts to discredit those arguing for peace.

Unlike many EU countries, Hungary has consistently refused to send arms to Ukraine and has repeatedly criticized the Union’s sanctions against Russia.

In July, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán launched a diplomatic peace mission to mediate between Moscow and Kiev. However, the initiative was met with harsh criticism from several quarters within the EU.

EU foreign affairs chief Josep Borrell stressed that the Hungarian prime minister “did not represent the EU in any form”. European Council President Charles Michel called the peace mission “a problem ‘ and stressed that Orbán’s peace effort was “unacceptable”.

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Swedish soldiers could be sent to Ukraine

The war in Ukraine

Published yesterday 10:21
– By Editorial Staff
Swedish conscripts during training.

There are many indications that Swedish peacekeeping troops may be sent to Ukraine after the end of the war.

– Our government is not ruling anything out, says Minister for Foreign Affairs Maria Malmer Stenergard (M).

UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer has announced that the country is prepared to send so-called peacekeeping troops to Ukraine if a peace agreement is reached. This has raised questions about whether other European countries, including Sweden, might follow suit.

Speaking on the Swedish state radio program P1 Morgon, Sweden’s Foreign Minister Maria Malmer Stenergard (M) said that it is not inconceivable that Sweden would also participate in such an operation.

We are not there yet. First and foremost, a just and lasting peace must be negotiated that respects international law, respects Ukraine and, above all, ensures that Russia cannot withdraw and build new forces and attack Ukraine or another country in a few years’ time, she explained.

Once we have that in place, then we have to ensure that that peace can be kept, and our government is not ruling anything out, the Minister continued.

Similar message from the Minister of Defense

According to the Associated Press, several European countries, led by the UK and France, have been discussing since last year a joint strategy to establish a peacekeeping force in Ukraine. The plan would be activated in the event of a peace agreement, with the stated purpose of monitoring security and preventing further escalation in the region.

The issue of Swedish participation has been debated in the past, with Defense Minister Pål Jonson (M) declaring in December that he “does not exclude the possibility” of Sweden sending soldiers to the country after the war ends.

At the same time, however, he emphasized that there was currently no concrete proposal for such an operation or what it would look like in practice.

Political elite furious as Trump seeks to broker peace

Donald Trump's USA

Published 14 February 2025
– By Editorial Staff
Vladimir Putin och Donald Trump under ett möte i Moskva 2019.

The US announcements that the US and Russia will negotiate peace in Ukraine, that Ukrainian NATO membership is unthinkable, and that a return to the 2014 borders is unrealistic have sent establishment politicians on both sides of the Atlantic into a rage.

Surrender and betrayal”, thunders Connecticut Senator Richard Blumenthal, arguing that the announcement “amounts to abandoning Ukraine, and undercutting the security of our European allies”.

His colleague from California, Adam Schiff, is equally outraged, complaining that Trump “called our enemy, Russia, before calling our ally, Ukraine”.

Let’s not mince words about what this represents: a surrender of Ukraine’s interests and our own, even before negotiations begin. Trump’s a great dealmaker all right – for the Kremlin”, he claims.

“A dark day”

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk expresses his disappointment that there will not be a “just peace” and says that “Ukraine, Europe and the United States should work on this together”.

Estonian politician Marko Mihkelson goes even further, claiming that “today might go down in history as a dark day for Europe”, demanding that EU leaders act immediately and “take our fate into our own hands”.

German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius is also not happy with the US announcement that a return to Ukrainian borders before 2014 is unrealistic.

– It would have been better to talk about Ukraine’s possible NATO membership or the country’s possible loss of territory at the negotiating table, he says.

“Invitation to despots and tyrants”

The EU’s top diplomat Kaja Kallas also condemns the US efforts, saying that “Ukraine’s independence and territorial integrity are unconditional”.

Seven European countries, together with the European Commission, are also calling for Ukraine and the EU to be given seats at the negotiating table, while France’s foreign minister, Jean-Noël Barrot, says the US action opens the door to dictatorship and tyranny.

– Abandoning Ukraine would be a definitive recognition of the right of the strongest. It would be an invitation to all despots and tyrants around the world to invade their neighbors with total impunity.

“Our line is firm”

Sweden’s Defense Minister Pål Jonson (M) also reacted strongly, saying that despite the US announcement, Ukraine may well become a NATO member in the future.

– Hegseth said that NATO membership cannot be part of this political peace agreement. Then there is (another) agreement from (the previous NATO summit in) Washington that says that Ukraine’s future is in NATO, but of course it must first meet the political requirements for membership.

The Swedish minister goes on to say that only Ukraine can decide whether or not to give up territory to Russia, and states that Sweden and other European allies remain committed to the country’s “territorial integrity”.

– Let’s have some ice in our stomachs now. Our line is firm, he urges.

“A day of triumph for Putin”

On the editorial pages of several Swedish establishment media, there is almost a mood of doom. Svenska Dagbladet’s Olof Ehrenkrona, for example, believes that “Donald Trump’s United States is actively undermining Europe’s security”.

No decent and lasting peace is likely as long as Putin is in charge in the Kremlin”, he states, calling the US announcement a “day of triumph” for Putin.

He (Putin) is fooling the great negotiator who now appears to be a weakling and a loser”, he adds.

Meanwhile, Trump supporters and others who have long called for increased peace efforts in Ukraine note that EU leaders and the former Biden administration have had three full years to bring peace to the country but that they have not been interested in any such efforts or made any major efforts to end the war.

Instead, the focus has been on raising tensions and escalating the conflict further partly by sending advanced weapons systems to Ukraine that can strike targets inside Russia – but also by claiming in various statements that Europe or NATO could soon be at full-scale war with Russia.

Swedish government’s top priority: continued support to Ukraine

The war in Ukraine

Published 13 February 2025
– By Editorial Staff
Volodymyr Zelensky and Ulf Kristersson during a meeting in 2023.

The Swedish Government announces that continued Swedish support to Ukraine is at the top of the foreign policy priority list.

– For Sweden, support for Ukraine is not just a moral duty, but an investment in Europe’s and our own security, independence and freedom, says Minister for Foreign Affairs Maria Malmer Stenergard (M).

On Wednesday, the Minister for Foreign Affairs presented the Government’s foreign policy declaration for the coming year and the foreign policy priorities that are considered most important to focus on.

– This year’s foreign policy declaration is being presented at a difficult time in terms of security policy. We – Sweden, the EU and NATO – are in a long-term and far-reaching confrontation with Russia. Russia will continue to pose a serious threat to security in Europe, regardless of the outcome of the war in Ukraine, the minister warned.

– Our task is inescapable: we will counter Russia’s ability to do us harm, not least by supporting Ukraine, Malmer Stenergard promises.

The center-right government states that “support for Ukraine is the government’s primary foreign policy task” and that more than SEK 70 billion (€6 billion) has been pumped into the project so far.

“Gender equality” a key issue

In addition to this, there will also be a focus on various initiatives at NATO and EU level strengthening “resilience against attempts to destabilize our societies such as cyber attacks, disinformation and sabotage of critical infrastructure”, it says.

In particular, the Foreign Minister emphasizes that “gender equality” is a fundamental core value of Swedish foreign policy and promises to invest in promoting it in 2025.

– In 2025, Sweden will chair the Executive Board of UN Women. As Chair, we will drive global gender equality work forward and emphasize the importance of women’s economic empowerment.

Pentagon rules out NATO membership for Ukraine in peace process

The war in Ukraine

Published 13 February 2025
– By Editorial Staff
The newly appointed US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth.

US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth announced that Ukraine will not join NATO as part of any ceasefire agreement with Russia. He stressed that attempts to reinstate Ukraine’s 2014 borders are “unrealistic”, and that no US troops will be deployed to enforce such an agreement.

Kiev has repeatedly argued that NATO membership is a key security guarantee, and President Volodymyr Zelenskyj says it is a precondition for resuming dialogue with Moscow.

Despite this, NATO has never presented a membership timetable for Ukraine, and several officials point out that membership is not an option during the current conflict.

Hegseth stressed during a meeting in Brussels that security guarantees for Ukraine must be backed by strong troops from both Europe and other parts of the world.

Meanwhile, Donald Trump has previously expressed doubts about the security benefits of NATO membership, saying it could exacerbate tensions with Russia.

Moscow has long opposed Ukraine’s membership aspirations, arguing that NATO’s expansion towards its borders threatens Russian security and that Ukraine should adopt a neutral position in a future peace agreement.