“There can be no peace in Europe without Russia” was once the mantra of European political philosophers. Now, the desperate liberal order is determined to smother out this logic with all or nothing propaganda and a proxy war NATO strategists say will weaken Russia. Unfortunately, their strategy will probably starve half the world to death.
The other day, South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa said “bystander countries” are suffering due to sanctions against Russia. The European Union’s aggressive support of the American sanction regime aimed at severing of economic ties try and force Moscow our of Ukraine is already causing serious collateral damage to far distant states. And while western analysts and leaders prefer to blame Russia for the situation, many dissenting nations understand Vladimir Putin’s hand was forced by the NATO cadre.
Not only have millions been forced to flee Ukraine, tens of thousands more have died needlessly because of the United States and NATO arming Ukraine’s military against neighboring Russia. Ramaphosa, and other African leaders see the situation for what it is, a desperate moment made more devastating because of the great game. Africa, which has already seen millions pushed into desperation by the COVID-19 pandemic, is now being devastated by rising food costs caused in part by disruptions linked to the Ukraine conflict.
Sadly, instead of trying to work a peace agreement in the Russia/Ukraine affair, the EU is using the situation to try and sway African nations back into the fold of former colonial powers. This is evidenced by German Chancellor Olaf Scholz ‘visit to South Africa on the final leg of a trip to the continent that aimed at just this. Russia and Ukraine account for nearly a third of global wheat and barley, as well as two-thirds of the world’s supply of sunflower oil used for cooking. And despite the fact Russia is opening sea corridors to let out shipments from Ukraine, western propaganda channels continue to harp on how Russia is causing shortages.
Long lines of transfer trucks leaving Ukraine for Poland and Moldova are not in western news, but on social media via Tik Tok and other channels. And with Russian media broadcasts cut off in the west, the public in Europe, and the United States think Putin is trying to starve people. In Asia, most African nations, Latin America, and especially in the BRICS nations, it’s a different story.
At the end of the day the situation is unacceptable whether or not you agree or disagree with Russia’s position on Ukraine. The Joe Biden administration has thrown the kitchen sink at Russia to try and unseat Vladimir Putin, but grain shortages and other strife were inevitable even if Kyiv and Moscow had no beef. The United Nations Security Council has said the world has a 10-week supply of wheat, and Sara Menker, CEO of Gro Intelligence told the council Russia’s special operation in Ukraine “did not start a food security crisis.” She said the conflict has exacerbated the already serious problem, which she called “seismic.”
So, Germany and the NATO pack politicizing a desperate situation serves to spotlight the already unhinged economic and physical war against the Russians. This wolfpack led by Joe Biden and his handlers, will be responsible for the misery and death of millions even if World War III does not break out. I am not alone in suggesting that Biden and the others could have stopped all of this before Putin gave the order to demilitarize and denazify Ukraine.
Now, not only is my country blaming the Russians for a war created by Washington in the first place, we are pointing the finger at a nation that essentially feeds the world saying, “Look, they are using food against us!” Ukraine mines its own harbors. American, British, French, and German missiles and cannons fling ordinance all over Ukraine to kill Russians, and it’s only Putin’s men blocking wheat shipments?
Russia has something like 10,000 sanctions leveled upon the country by NATO, essentially. These sanctions impeded shipments abroad even before the Ukraine crisis turned to open warfare. Fertilizer shipments played a role, as did banking restrictions leveraged against Russian entrepreneurs who operate logistics or supply businesses. And US Secretary of State Antony Blinken says Putin is alone in “weaponizing” food shipments. Even if he is not lying, what this means is the Biden administration and NATO are just stupid not to have realized millions would starve if Russia got pushed too far.
The executive director of the World Food Program has warned that 49 million people in 43 countries will be facing starvation soon. Gro Intelligence’s Merker has synthesized the scope of this crisis the NATO boys and girls have turned into a political football:
“We cannot solve food insecurity on a national scale anywhere. While the next few years will likely be difficult, we can coordinate a global response.”
Climate change, recent drought, the aforementioned fertilizer shortages, infrastructure problems from the conflict and sanctions regimes, and the supply chain issues between nations will end in unprecedented suffering. The mantra the Europeans originally had concerning peace with Russia, they are expanded to validate something Vladimir Putin said not long ago:
“If there is no Russia, then there is no world.” This is what Russia’s president meant in an interview with RT not long ago.
Unfortunately, for Africans and the rest of the world, the liberal rulers in my country and in Europe have another plan. Bear in mind, 140 million people suffering acute hunger lived in just 10 countries, and those countries are not in Europe. Even António Guterres, Secretary General of the United Nation chastised the Security Council over the failed detente happening now:
“When this Council debates conflict, you debate hunger. And when you fail to reach consensus, hungry people pay a high price.”
So there’s the NATO mission in a nutshell. No matter how many Ukrainians, Africans, or other people need to die, Russia must be done-in like Yugoslavia was. I think I said this many times before. Taking things a step further, it’s pointedly obvious now that the world cannot live a normal life at all, without Russia.
Phil Butler, is a policy investigator and analyst, a political scientist and expert on Eastern Europe, he’s an author of the recent bestseller “Putin’s Praetorians” and other books. He writes exclusively for the online magazine “New Eastern Outlook”.