I wonder if anyone remembers Ronald Reagan’s famous admonition that “A nuclear battle cannot be won, and must never be fought!” Should we accept the eternal coexistence of good & evil in light of these memorable words by this great man? Naturally! Why then did the West reject Russia’s request to not deploy any strategic weapons near her borders, and to limit the western military alliance expansion in her direction. The conceivable “ok” from the West would not have saved tens or thousands of innocent civilians, and even more combatants. It could! It might!
Even a war that is detrimental to the nation is better than one that is advantageous. There is no international organization with the power to legislate any law that could guarantee peace in the modern era. We all rely on the goodwill of the existing nuclear-nations. If they want peace, then there will be peace. If not, civilization may be in for a complete destruction. Isn’t it a pain?
Why, again, does the world always choose war over negotiations, even if it is forced to stay away from nukes in the future? Is humanity really so naive? Have we not learnt a single lesson from our tragic history of suffering and bloodshed? To avoid a nuclear disaster, a verbal ban on atomic war will not suffice. A conventional military attack must be prohibited by an international ordinance that is enforced by all nations. If this sounds like utopia, we will always be faced with wars and their inevitable consequences.
Let’s be more specific, and add the current war in Ukraine. The world is very tired of it. It becomes tired when we spend money on it, make comments about it and think of it as a precursor to a nuclear catastrophe. What can we expect from it? Ukraine cannot afford to give up on its struggle for existence halfway through. After so many sacrifices – both human and financial – it cannot afford to lose this many territories. The tragically destroyed and non-nuclear Ukraine is desperate to regain its lost territories, rebuild the country, and regain its international status. I don’t blame them. Russia, as one of the world’s most important nuclear nations, will never accept defeat. It would be a total loss of face. Russia will therefore insist on keeping the newly gained lands and demand that her prewar claims be respected once again.
This is a geopolitical crisis that is more tragic than ever. Diplomacy appears to be ineffective and irrelevant and the future seems even worse. Here is the most vile question: Will the world choose to use either Russia or Ukraine for the sake peace, or will they let the war continue as usual? Isn’t freezing the conflict also an option?
I personally believe that it is impossible to keep both Russia and Ukraine safe and intact. One of them is going to suffer some serious losses, perhaps even the loss of face. The good old days are gone. The peaceful coexistence of the past was so pleasant! Russia and Ukraine would have been able to live in a peaceful, brotherly neighborhood for many centuries! Yes, if the West had taken a more thoughtful approach to the atrocities and mass deaths that any war would likely bring. In that context, no one would have resented our little Georgia for the peaceful life she currently enjoys.
Nugzar B.Ruhadze, Op-Ed
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