NATO imperialism / CSTO imperialism – enemies of the peoples of Ukraine
Ukraine is being torn apart by imperialist powers – as a result, Europe stands on the brink of war. Its right-wing government desires greater integration with the EU and NATO. In response, Putin supports Russian-speaking separatists in the east of the country hoping to annex part of the country. Russia argues that the separatist forces must be defended by Russian military intervention. The house of cards is collapsing into bloodshed.
We strongly condemn the declaration of Putin on February 21 to recognise the ‘independence of Donetsk and Luhansk People’s Republics and follows this statement by sending Russian troops into those areas. Putin has threatened to further destabilise the region with plans to build military bases in the Donbas as NATO increases its own forces in the Baltic states.
Putin promotes the notion that Ukraine is an artificial construct. Which currently existing ‘nation state’ is not? Not any we can think of. And indeed as the comrades of the Ukraine social movement point out here he explicitly talked about correcting the mistakes of Lenin in recognising the right to self-determination!
Our support for Ukrainian self-determination is distinct from any political support for the reactionary Ukrainian government. Some on the left have made much of the strength of the far-right in Ukraine – while seeming to downplay the strength of similar forces in the so-called Peoples Republics – or indeed in Russia itself.
Putin’s imperialist ambitions – to recreate the Russia of the Tsars – are even more dangerous in the context of the bellicose actions of NATO. The West moves to impose sanctions and warn of the threat to democracy. We won’t take any lectures from western powers about democracy when they support dictatorships around the world or criminalise protests in their own countries. We oppose sanctions as a tool of inter-imperialist conflict.
While the Russian state has been engaged in aggressive troop and weapons manoeuvres encircling Ukraine, NATO has been engaging in its own war games by deploying in the area. Denmark has recently entered into talks that foreign troops can be stationed there for the first time ever – with a clear understanding that this could mean US troops.
Cheering on the imperialism of the west or of Russia is not a socialist position. We are concerned by the rise of ‘campist politics’ – seeing the world through the prism of foreign policy and declaring anyone who opposes US imperialism as somehow superior. We have seen where this leads – tacit support for Russian intervention into Syria, the massacre of revolutionaries in Aleppo and the destruction of the Syrian revolution.
- As socialists in Britain we oppose any military involvement by the Westminster government.
- We stand with anti-war campaigners in Ukraine, in Russia, across Europe and throughout the world in calling for a de-escalation of the military build-up on all sides – and beyond that for the dissolution of both North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) and the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO).
- We support independence and self-determination for Ukraine respecting the rights of ethnic and linguistic minorities.
- We call for the cancellation of Ukraines debt as demanded by the Ukranian social movement
Only the international working class, struggling for peace against imperialism, capitalism and war can create a better world.
This war is about the economic and political domination of Ukraine, not NATO. Ukraine is not joining NATO, no more than Turkey is joining the EU. NATO expansion 20 years ago did not bring nukes closer to Russia. They remain in Germany. Russia has bordered NATO for decades. What is new is Ukraine’s wish to trade more with the EU and reduce the power of Russia’s exports; both economic and political.
Comrades,
I think that the statement is already out of date. Putin has not confined himself to supporting the two Eastern Regions but has started a full-scale invasion. The invasion seems to have already run out of steam and there are growing protests in Russia itself.
I really disagree with this analysis. See my blogs below
This is not an inter imperialist war. Its primary cause is the expansion of NATO into Eastern Europe contrary to the promises made to Gorbachov.
Putin unfortunately fell into a trap that Biden laid but it is clear that following on from the 2014 coup in Ukraine it is the West which has sought to turn Ukraine into a western satellite.
Yes Putin’s regime is a reactionary nationalist one but we have to look beyond personalities and the role of the US in seeking to maintain its world hegemony at a time when its actual power is diminishing.
The situation in Ukraine and what has happened is complementary to the Aukus Pact designed to intimidate China.
This article is really off beam. If the republics of Donbas and Luhansk want Russia to defend them against the Azov battalion then that is their decision. Likewise it is a democratic right for peoples to secede especially when they are subject to what amounts to national oppression.
Our main demands should be Dismantle NATO, Withdrawal of Russian Troops from Ukraine, No Sanctions. This is the motion that the Socialist Labour Network has just passed.
Emergency Motion on Ukraine 28.2.22
This All Members Meeting believes:
1. That the primary blame for the crisis in Ukraine rests on the United States and NATO which has continued, since 1999, to expand into Eastern Europe despite guarantees given to the USSR and Gorbachov. [see NSA archives https://nsarchive.gwu.edu/briefing-book/russia-programs/2017-12-12/nato-expansion-what-gorbachev-heard-western-leaders-early
2. We call for the immediate withdrawal of Russian troops from Ukraine and reject Putin’s assertion that there is no nation of Ukraine.
3. We support the right of the 2 breakaway republics, Luhansk and Donbass to secede
4. We oppose sanctions on Russia as war by another means
5. We call for the dismantlement of NATO.
https://tonygreenstein.com/2022/02/the-blame-for-the-conflict-in-ukraine-belongs-entirely-with-nato-and-the-united-states/
https://azvsas.blogspot.com/2022/02/russias-attack-on-ukraine-must-be.html
A different aspect of this is how do leaders with severe personality disorders get to power like Putin, Trump, Hitler and, to a lesser degree, Boris Johnson? Is it that people are gullible believing that these men offer a way ahead for them? Is there a democratic system that could stop such types getting any sort of leadership roles?
Making Self-Determination for Ukraine the main issue represents a retreat from anti-imperialist politics
I am surprised that my previous comment was not approved, especially as my comment on another similar post was approved. No matter. Censorship is often erratic. impenetrable and inconsistent.
At an All Members Meeting tonight of the Socialist Labour Network (LAW/LIEN) the following motion was passed:
This All Members Meeting believes:
1. That the primary blame for the crisis in Ukraine rests on the United States and NATO which has continued, since 1999, to expand into Eastern Europe despite guarantees given to the USSR and Gorbachev.
2. We call for the immediate withdrawal of Russian troops from Ukraine and reject Putin’s assertion that there is no nation of Ukraine.
3. We support the right of the 2 breakaway republics, Luhansk and Donbass to secede
4. We oppose sanctions on Russia as war by another means
5. We call for the dismantlement of NATO.
The above resolution was overwhelmingly passed by the 80 people present. Politically it understands where the real threat today comes from.
The statement of ACN above constitutes an abject failure to understand the present situation. It is effectively a capitulation to US imperialism’s project to achieve or reassert “full spectrum” domination. What is happening is not a conflict between two imperialist powers. That is an easy way of avoiding the war rhetoric and chauvinism that unites Labour and Conservative.
Whilst Putin’s actions are to be criticised, they are understandable in the context of NATO’s continual march eastwards. It is not Russia that is seeking to expand its power and reach but that of the United States. It is baffling that you are unable to see this.
Nor is it a stage in the Putin programme of rebuilding the Czarist Empire. That is to mistake rhetoric for substance.
What you find difficult to understand Ted Galen Carpenter found easy in Monday’s Guardian ‘Many predicted Nato expansion would lead to war. Those warnings were ignored’.
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2022/feb/28/nato-expansion-war-russia-ukraine?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other
Likewise the ‘realist’ political scientist John Mearsheimer of Chicago University traced the history of NATO expansion and the growing threat to Russia.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nbj1AR_aAcE
Ukrainian self-determination, whatever that means, is not the issue. Clearly you believe that this self-determination includes those, like the people of Donbas and Luhansk, who don’t want to be included in the Ukrainian nation. I’m not sure how that squares with self-determination.
The presence of the Russian military in the breakaway republics is not imperialist by any Marxist definition. It is clearly with the assent of those living there, 14,000+ of whom have died at the hands of their Ukrainian compatriots in the last 8 years.
Making the situation today one of Ukrainian self-determination plays into the hands of NATO and the British Governments imperialist rhetoric. Ukraine’s self-determination was destroyed in 2014 when a democratically elected government was overthrown with the help and support of the US and EU.
The piece above is the height of unreality and represents a comprehensive failure of analysis.
It is really irrelevant if you don’t want to publish this piece because it says everything about your confidence in defending your own politics.
If you don’t wish to publish this fine. It suggests you lack confidence in your own politics.
tony greenstein
I am a member of ACR in Britain and of OKDE-Spartakos in Greece.
I posted this on Facebook re Ukraine (from OKDE-Spartakos, the Greek Section of the Fourth International, of which I am a member, and supporter, we within the FI are part of TRI- Tendency for a revolutionary International…)
OKDE-SPARTAKOS: On the war in Ukraine
War against the war of the capitalists Anti-war and internationalist struggle of the workers
The transfer of military equipment to Ukraine by the Greek government is an aggressive move, which certifies and escalates Greece’s involvement in the war crisis. The Greek state, acting largely autonomously, without even complying with NATO contractual obligations, reaffirms its aspirations to play an active role in the developments. This move poses a danger to both abroad and at home, as it also involves the population of the country in a conflict with potentially incalculable consequences.
The Russian Federation’s military invasion of Ukraine is escalating the US-NATO and increasingly EU conflict on the one hand and Russia on the other. The justification for the attack as a movement in support of the Donetsk and Luhansk People’s Republics or as a movement aimed at demilitarizing and de-Naziizing Ukraine is indicative of the hypocrisy with which the imperialists are dressing up their wars. It’s reminiscent of Bush’s crusade to “liberate the planet” from Afghan terrorists or Iraq’s chemical weapons arsenal, and Clinton’s former “interest” in oppressed Kosovars. Putin’s fiery anti-communist rhetoric and his extreme nationalist rhetoric against the so-called constructed Ukrainian nation show the real content of the invasion. Moreover, the systematic subjugation of the People’s Republics and their transformation into a protectorate, with the extermination of the most Plebian and progressive elements of their leadership and the imposition of Greater Russian chauvinism, show how much Putin is interested in the liberation of the people of Ukraine, Eastern and Western. Kyiv is added to the list of modern capital cities, after Belgrade, Kabul, Baghdad, Damascus and Sanaa. The images provoke anger and disgust, fear and insecurity in every rational and democratically thinking person. There can be no reduction in the condemnation of the invasion and in the demand that the Russian troops leave Ukraine now.
The global arsonists, the hawks of the wars in Washington and Brussels, NATO and the EU are trying to exploit the disgust and horror. Their hypocritical sensitivity to maintaining peace cannot convince anyone. The Western imperialists do not care at all for the independence and prosperity of Ukraine and do not fight at all for the support of democracy against Russian domination.
Their purpose is to further advance NATO to the east, to encircle Russia militarily, and to cut off its economic influence in Europe. They politically support and militarily equip the Kiev regime, an extreme neoliberal regime, in constant alliance with far-right or even openly Nazi groups, which has imposed poverty on its citizens and extreme political silence on dissidents and has been constantly waging national purges and ethnic cleansing in the east.One after another, the member states of NATO and the EU impose deadly economic sanctions on the population of the Russian Federation and send tons of military equipment to Ukraine. The EU Foreign Secretary made it clear that the “taboo” of the peaceful union was being broken, which shows the readiness of Western imperialism to escalate its involvement.
There is no doubt that invasion and war will only bring misery to the people of Ukraine. The Kiev regime will be strengthened, as the Ukrainian government can play the role of defending the country’s national sovereignty and defense. Donbass’s self-determination will be further undermined, as the populations will more easily be targeted as a long arm of Russian imperialism. The economic and administrative paralysis of the country will have devastating consequences on the living standards of the already tested popular classes.
Disgust and horror, however, should not distract us from the basic task of the working class and the people in our country. This task is not dictated by the distances you have to take from one or the other camp, which of these camps is stronger or who threw the first bullet. It is dictated by the unjust and reactionary nature of the war, which is done to defend interests that are completely foreign to the working classes of the planet. Our only interest is to contribute to the end of the war and the defeat of the imperialist plans.
Greece is a member of NATO and the EU, with inconceivable amounts of spending on military equipment and with numerous military bases of NATO and the US on its territory. At the same time, it is seeking its economic and political expansion into the region, ally with the reactionary regimes of Israel and Egypt, in the quadrilateral axis, together with Cyprus, in order to impose the interests of the Greek ruling class, shipowners, construction companies and financial investors, in its reactionary conflict with Turkey.
The real international task of the working class in the country is not limited to denouncing only the reactionary nature of the war on both sides. Alongside the task of manifesting practical international solidarity, away from the diplomatic, that is, imperialist, plans of states, organizations and governments, comes the task of blocking the economic, political, and even military aspirations of “our” bourgeoisie. This means that real service to the afflicted peoples of Ukraine can be offered by a movement that will cancel Greece’s involvement in the war, will fight to close NATO and US bases, will demand that no soldiers go outside the borders.
The working class in every country must say a resounding NO to the war adventures of their bourgeoisie and their states. This means the development of an internationalist, class, anti-war movement, which without offsets will fight against the main enemy within each country. The “Proletarians of all countries unite” is necessarily connected with the “The main enemy is in our country”.We demand:
– Imperialist armies out of Ukraine – No one dead for NATO-EU-Russia interests.- Self-determination of the people of Donbass.- Close Suda, Alexandroupolis and all NATO and US bases.- No involvement of Greece in the war. No soldiers on an imperialist mission.- Greece’s exit from NATO, dissolution of the military alliance – Dissolution of the reactionary axis Greece-Cyprus-Israel-Egypt.
and, last evening, my group, the SLN, Socialist Labour Network- much better than ACR (my political party, the British Section of the Fourth International) agreed this…
The SLN (Socialist Labour Network- formed after the merger of LAW (Labour Against the Witchhunt) and LIEN (Labour in Exile Network) just voted in favour of the follwong motion on UKRAINE by 44 votesin favour against 4 with 7 Abstentions …
This All Members Meeting believes:
1. That the primary blame for the crisis in Ukraine rests on the United States and NATO which has continued, since 1999, to expand into Eastern Europe despite guarantees given to the USSR and Gorbachov. [see NSA archives https://nsarchive.gwu.edu/briefing-book/russia-programs/2017-12-12/nato-expansion-what-gorbachev-heard-western-leaders-early 2. We note that Russia’s intervention at the moment is basically defensive and has been provoked by NATO and that Russia does have the right to defend itself against NATO expansion. We call for the immediate withdrawal of Russian troops from Ukraine and reject Putin’s assertion that there is no nation of Ukraine.
3. We support the right of the 2 breakaway republics, Luhansk and Donbass to secede
4. We oppose sanctions on Russia as war by other means
5. We call for the dismantlement of NATO.
6. We condemn the war hysteria and war propaganda waged by the MSM and in particular the call to close down RT as a means of shutting of any alternative sources of information
(I voted in favour of the resolution)
On Russia’s war on the Ukraine, I recommend this very clear statement from the US group Solidarity. I think this deals with the question of NATO’s eastern expansion, and its relevance to the present tasks of the left, particularly well. And it highlights what should (obviously?) be the number one task of the moment, opposing Russia’s invasion.
https://solidarity-us.org/russia-out-of-ukraine-solidarity-with-ukraines-people-no-to-nato-now-or-ever/
I also recommend George Monbiot’s critique of confusions on the left around the invasion, including of the Stop the War Coalition:-
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2022/mar/02/russian-propaganda-anti-imperialist-left-vladimir-putin
It seems to me that the left in Britain should be focusing on two things. First, the role of the City of London, backed by the New Labour and Conservative governments, in creating the Russian oligarchy. The City has been essential for channelling the billions stolen from the Russian people into international investment networks, including Britain’s very own tax havens, the ‘Overseas Dependencies’. We should demand that the City stop laundering the cash not just of Russian oligarchs but every kleptocrat, dictator, oligarch and mafia on the planet. Including, especially, Saudi and Gulf money. And that the Overseas Dependencies tax havens/secrecy jurisdictions are closed down, immediately.
Secondly, we should point out that there is another dictatorship which has invaded a neighbouring state and is carrying out genocide there; and which has its money stashed in and through the City of London. This is Saudi Arabia in the Yemen. Has the British government opposed this by every means possible? No, it has massively aided it. It has sold the arms to Saudi which it is using in Yemen, and British army advisors are directing the bombing by the Saudi airforce. The left should highlight these grotesque double standards. We should demand: no more arms sales to Saudi; no more British help to the Saudi military.