Zimpapers Logo

Traditionally, we meet at the beginning of the new year to talk about the results and events of the last year. 

It was difficult, to some extent unique. Deep trends in geopolitics and in the international aspirations of the leading states, which had been maturing for more than a dozen years, have manifested themselves. 

Western colleagues sought to make Ukraine and everything happening around it the main media, political and economic event, accusing the Russian Federation that “aggression” against Ukraine was the cause of all the troubles of the world economy. 

I will not dwell in detail on the refutation of these statements. Statistics, including the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO) and other international structures, convincingly say that the crisis was brewing long before the start of a special military operation. 

Russian President Vladimir Putin has repeatedly cited data describing how negative phenomena in the global economy began, primarily as a result of the selfish position of the United States and its allies.

What is happening now in Ukraine is the result of many years of preparation by the United States and its satellites for the start of a global hybrid war against the Russian Federation. 

No one hides it. If you read unbiased Western figures, including political scientists and  politicians, you can be convinced of this. Just the other day there was an article by Professor J Bremmer of Columbia University. He texted: 

“We are not in a state of cold war with Russia. We are in a “hot war” with Russia. NATO is not fighting it directly. We are fighting through Ukraine”. 

Quite a frank confession. This conclusion lies on the surface. It is strange that they are trying to refute it in some way. 

Recently, the President of Croatia Zoran Milanovich said that this is a NATO war. Frankly, honestly. 

A few weeks ago, Mr Kissinger (before calling for Ukraine to join NATO in the last article) clearly wrote that what is happening in Ukraine is a clash, a rivalry between two nuclear powers for control over this territory. It is pretty clear what we are talking about. 

Our Western partners are lying when they deny and “foam at the mouth” prove that they are not at war with Russia, but only help Ukraine cope with “aggression” and restore territorial integrity. The volume of support clearly indicates that the West has put a lot on its war against Russia. This is understandable. 

The events around Ukraine revealed the latent desire of the United States to stop trying to strengthen its position in the world by legitimate means and switch to illegitimate methods of ensuring its dominance. 

Everything is put into action. The mechanisms created by the West, led by the United States and considered sacred, have been destroyed (far from what we see in Ukraine). Free market, fair competition, free enterprise, inviolability of property, presumption of innocence — all that the Western model of globalisation was based on collapsed overnight. Sanctions that contradict these postulates and mechanisms are applied against Russia and other “undesirable” countries. 

It is clear that tomorrow or the day after tomorrow they can be used against any state that, one way or another, will not recklessly carry out American orders.

The European Union has completely submitted to the American dictate (there is no need to talk about it for a long time). The apotheosis of this process, which has been taking shape for several years, was the signing on January 10 of this year of the Joint Declaration of NATO and the EU on Co-operation. 

It explicitly states that the alliance and the European Union have the task of using all political, economic and military means in the interests of the “golden billion”. 

That is exactly what it says — in the interests of one billion citizens of NATO and EU countries. The rest, in the words of the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrel, — “jungle”, preventing the “blooming garden” from developing. 

Therefore, they need to be reformatted, adjusted to their needs, turned into colonies of a new type and ruthlessly siphon resources from there with new methods.

The means are known: demonisation, blackmail, sanctions, threats of force and much more. Now the West’s line on the destruction of traditional ties of historical partners in different regions, their fragmentation and de-stabilisation is more noticeable. 

We see this in the Balkans, in the post-Soviet space, especially if we analyse the actions of the United States, its “clients” and “helpers” in Central Asia, in Transcaucasia. 

Returning to the declaration of NATO and the European Union. An interesting document. The two structures are declared “an alliance of democracies against autocracies in the context of global rivalry.” 

A deliberately confrontational agenda has been proclaimed for the whole world. At the same time, Europe has lost its independence. 

The Joint Declaration directly puts the Europeans in a subordinate position in relation to the North Atlantic Alliance. It contains their obligation to provide service to American interests in the geopolitical deterrence of Russia and China. 

The goal has been announced (it was known to everyone, but now it is once again documented) — the achievement of global superiority of the alliance led by the Americans. 

Washington’s policy of dictate in international affairs means literally the following: Americans are allowed to do anything and wherever they want (even on the other side of the Earth). 

What they think is necessary, they will do. Everyone else cannot do anything without American consent, even in response to direct security threats that the United States itself creates on the borders of countries. 

Sanctions against Russia are openly declared as directed by NATO so that the people would make a “revolution” against the current leaders of our country. No one observes any decency here and is not going to. 

Nevertheless, this reaction, a frenzied attempt by all means, by hook or by crook, forbidden techniques to ensure the dominance of the United States and the rest of the West (which Washington has completely crushed under itself), reflects the understanding that historically they act against the objective course of events and, in fact, are trying to stop the formation of a multipolar world. 

The countries are developing economically. Look at China and India (our strategic partners), Turkiye, Brazil, Argentina, Egypt, and many countries of the African continent. The potential for development there, taking into account the enormous reserves of natural resources, is huge. New centres of economic growth are being formed. 

The West is trying to prevent this, including by speculating on the mechanisms created to serve its interests within the framework of globalisation created by it. Here, the role of the dollar as a reserve currency is one of the main ones. Therefore, within the framework of our contacts through the SCO, BRICS, CIS, EAEU, in cooperation with associations of Asia, Africa, Latin America, we are trying in every possible way to build new forms of interaction so as not to depend on the West and its (now it is clear) neocolonial methods. 

Russian President Vladimir Putin has said this openly and clearly. Methods are used only to plunder the rest of the world in new conditions. Together with our reliable partners and friendly countries, we are building such forms of interaction that will benefit us. They will not be influenced by those who want to subjugate the whole world.

We are planning a second Russia-Africa summit with Africa on July 23-26, 2023 in St Petersburg. We are preparing a whole series of events for it. 

There will also be a business forum, documents are being prepared on the “reconfiguration” of interaction mechanisms in the face of sanctions and threats, which you mentioned in the context of the American bill. 

New tools for trade and investment co-operation, logistics chains, and payments. There is a transition to settlements in national currencies. This process is not fast, but it is going on and gaining momentum.