PRESS STATEMENT BY HON. GIVEN LUBINDA, PATRIOTIC FRONT ACTING PRESIDENT ON THE CONTINUED RUSSIA/UKRAINE CONFLICT
15TH APRIL, 2022
We strongly commend Russia for its efforts to bring the conflict to a close which we hear should be ending within two to three weeks. We therefore call on all parties involved to support this initiative by Russia. It is our sincere hope that the outcome of these efforts shall be a win-win for both Russia and Ukraine. It is only a win-win situation for the two which can ultimately culminate in a win for mankind and for the entire world.
We are also alive to the fact that Russia/Ukraine negotiations are not an easy undertaking, This is the reason why we commend Russia’s commitment to continue pursuing the route of dialogue in its quest to persuade the West to stop Ukraine from joining NATO and roll back decades of the alliance expansion in Europe.
We understand the sentiment of Russian Ambassador, Alexander Lukashevich, the Head of Mission of the Permanent Mission of the Russian Federation to the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe in Vienna that there will be catastrophic consequences if the two sides do not agree on Russia’s proposed security red lines that would guarantee Russia’s security. After all every sovereign state has a right and a duty to its citizens to guarantee its National integrity and security.
We urge all the players to respect and honour the Minsk Agreement and set a precedent that International Agreements can indeed be honoured. The Russia/Ukraine conflict has provided the world with a unique opportunity to realise that no country is above the other. This is proof that we cannot achieve and maintain global peace without striving and maintaining a system of balance-of-power. A balance-of-power system is more stable than one with a dominant state or bloc of states against all else. Aggression of weak states by powerful state alliances can be minimized when there is equilibrium of power between rival coalitions.
Historically, Zambia has been a member of the Non-Aligned Movement on matters of international conflict involving competing interests between the Western and Eastern blocs. And we call upon the Zambian Government not to deviate from this historical principle by maintaining a neutral stance on the Russia/Ukraine conflict.
We believe that it is important for all interested parties, including Zambia, to understand the complicated and delicate nature of this conflict and join efforts to end it and restore peace in Europe and the rest of the world. The world should hear both sides. Russia has appealed to the global community to understand the reasons for its military operation in Ukraine, which include demilitarisation and denazification of its neighbour for the safety and security of the Russian people. It has reminded the world that since Ukraine declared independence it had remained non-aligned until the western-backed coup in 2014 after which it has been pushing to join the Western military alliance, the Northern Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO), which has declared Russia as its adversary. This, if actuated, would directly threaten Russia’s security as it shares a long border with Ukraine.
The West turned down Russia’s requests for security guarantees of non-expansion of NATO to Russia’s borders and started mass deliveries of lethal weapons to the Ukrainian government, encouraging the activities of nationalist anti-Russian and armed groups and foreign mercenaries.
It is our strong belief that all these aforementioned factors must fully be addressed if we are to find a lasting peaceful solution. Glossing over the fundamental causes of the conflict cannot guarantee the avoidance of further conflicts in the future.
We urge the parties involved not to relent on pursuing a peaceful resolution and ensure that all the Articles of the Minsk Agreement are respected and strictly adhered to.
It is also our considered view that in order to safeguard peace and maintain an equilibrium of global military power, the globe needs a balance of economic and financial systems. To avoid economic dominance by any single state or group of states and in order to maintain global economic stability, we call on all nations to support the emergence of a new Economic Payment Scheme other than the SWIFT.
I thank you.