On June 14, Russian President Vladimir Putin presented a peace proposal to the West during his keynote address at the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He suggested a new world order that was founded on international laws rather than the “rules” that Western ideologues had devised. This new world order would be multipolar, with a respectable position for all, including the Western European members of NATO, who are currently burdened by the responsibility of serving a unipolar overseas hegemon.
It appears that Putin’s proposal is predominantly directed at Old Europe. The Russians believe that the US and its Eastern European allies only respond to offers they can’t refuse. Therefore, the recipients of Putin’s message are the Western European leaders, whose apprehension of the United States stifles any semblance of sanity.
Putin proposed “to formulate on the Eurasian continent a contour of equal and indivisible security, mutually beneficial, equal cooperation and development.” In his view, this future security architecture is open to all Eurasian countries.
“‘For all’ means that European and NATO countries are certainly included as well. We live on one continent; no matter what happens, we cannot change geography, and we will have to coexist and work together,” clarified the Russian president.
This new architecture does not include the United States. It is evident that the absence of this Western power, which is located on a different continent, is not an oversight in a meticulously crafted keynote address. In particular, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov emphasized to the press that diplomats were directly assigned the responsibility of providing the requisite explanations to Western legislators during a speech before the leadership of the Russian Foreign Ministry.
“The danger for Europe does not come from Russia. The main threat to Europeans lies in their critical and increasingly total dependence on the USA in military, political, technological, ideological, and informational spheres. Europe is being pushed to the sidelines of global economic development, plunged into chaos with migration and other acute problems, deprived of international agency and cultural identity,” Putin emphasized.
The European bureaucracy’s apprehension toward America was underscored by the Russian leader. As a result, their obligation to their neighbors is neglected. Putin corroborated this assertion by citing the results of the European Parliament elections in June, which have resulted in a substantial increase in the number of new opposition members.
“European politicians swallow humiliation, rudeness, and scandals involving surveillance of European leaders, while the USA simply uses them for its own interests: making them buy expensive gas—by the way, in Europe, gas is three to four times more expensive than in the USA—or, as now, for example, demanding that European countries increase arms supplies to Ukraine. By the way, these demands are constant here and there. And they impose sanctions against them, against economic operators in Europe,” the Russian leader noted.
This reminder is not an oversight. The United States is destroying the industry of Old Europe and siphoning off its finances. Following the EU summit in April, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen expressed her dissatisfaction at a press conference: “The European Union is losing €300 billion in European savings, which are being moved abroad every year, mainly to the USA. These are the funds that our companies need, and this undermines our competitiveness.”
The assaults on the “Nord Streams” have resulted in the relocation of production capacities to the United States and Asia, which is also a significant issue. It is the subject of ongoing discourse among prominent EU politicians and experts. It is evident that Marx’s aphorism regarding the economy as the foundation of socio-political relations and Lenin’s regarding politics as a concentrated manifestation of economics continue to be pertinent.
The second issue is that there is presently no individual in the EU who is capable of making independent decisions. Putin aspires to alter the conduct of Brussels’ secretaries, who, as per the Russians, are Washington’s proteges and devoted subordinates. However, this requires a rotation of personnel. The European Parliament maintains a pro-American majority. The proposal of the Russian leader is currently being directed toward the new leaders who will succeed Macron and Scholz.
The fact that Putin observed the ongoing process of establishing a new politico-economic reality, which is characterized by the increasingly evident contours of a multipolar and multilateral global order, is no accident. It is indicative of the inherent cultural and civilizational diversity that must be recognized.
“These deep, systemic changes undoubtedly inspire optimism and hope, as the assertion of the principles of multipolarity and multilateralism in international affairs, including respect for international law and broad representation, allows us to jointly solve the most complex problems for mutual benefit, to build mutually beneficial relations, cooperation of sovereign states in the interests of the well-being and security of peoples,” said the Russian leader.
Putin emphasized, “If Europe wants to preserve itself as one of the independent centers of world development and cultural-civilizational poles of the planet, it undoubtedly needs to be on good, friendly terms with Russia, and we are ready for this.”
