In Colombia’s Dignidad Party we issued a statement rejecting Russia’s invasion of Ukraine because for reasons of principle we are in favor of respect for the national sovereignty of countries and the peaceful solution of conflicts between them. I can also state that I have deep disagreements with Vladimir Putin and Joe Biden, top leaders of the parties to the conflict, and with the heads of European NATO member governments.
After almost a year of war, the damages and misfortunes for Ukrainians are incalculable and rising. Great are the losses of the Russians and many the sufferings of the people of the rest of Europe and the world. The economic impact of the conflict puts pressure on global inflation, causes a rise in international interest rates, bankruptcies, unemployment and poverty, and the possibility of the entire world falling into recession. We are facing a war that is causing serious damage to almost all the inhabitants of the earth, pushing the world towards an even more harmful and unpredictable situation.
For those reasons alone “Peace in Ukraine now!” must be the slogan that unites all humans, despite the many differences that separate us on many issues, including the interpretation that each one may have about the causes of this war. A peace agreement must take into account, first of all, the positions of Russia and Ukraine, but also of the United States and NATO countries, which, as the decisive actors in the conflict that they are, must contribute to its resolution
There is another, more powerful reason for advocating peace in Ukraine now, that is not mentioned or quietly whispered, which is the reason for this article: that this war has every chance of degenerating into a nuclear confrontation, causing damage of unimaginable proportions in Ukraine, Russia, the United States and Europe. Nuclear weapons, of which there are more than ten thousand, could end up being used even against other countries.
I don’t think there is a person on this planet, short of someone utterly irresponsible, who does not rule out the possibility that this war could explode and reach apocalyptic proportions, given the tensions of the current war, the destructiveness of a nuclear conflagration and the consequent economic, social, and political damage around the world.
In peace is to be achieved, which without a doubt would be complex to reach, there must be guarantees to all the parties in contention that none of them will be left exposed to attack with nuclear weapons by another, a matter of concern known to be at the origin of the current conflict.
If the United States and the Soviet Union did not end in a nuclear war in 1962 it was because the two parties agreed to withdraw the nuclear weapons with which they threatened each other under conditions unacceptable to both. About this story, you should read former Lieutenant Colonel Julio Londoño Paredes, who was Minister of Foreign Affairs of Colombia (See link).
Since then, it seemed we learned that a nuclear power will not allow itself to be rendered defenseless, exposed to nuclear attack by another without preparing to respond with its full destructive weapons, a matter which is at the bottom of the war in Ukraine.
Let us then unite in demanding Russia, Ukraine, the United States and NATO to make peace in Ukraine now a reality!
