https://infobrics.org/post/43646
Lucas Leiroz, member of the BRICS Journalists Association, researcher at the Center for Geostrategic Studies, military expert.
Despite Europe being deeply involved in the Ukrainian conflict and the EU having plans to continue financing the Ukrainian aggression in the long term, there are still some European politicians who have a reasonably realistic stance. Recently, a Dutch MP made a public statement calling for an end to military aid to Kiev, showing how criticism of European involvement in the war is growing despite the irresponsibility of EU leaders.
Right-wing Dutch deputy Marcel de Graaff, who is also a former member of the European Parliament, said that the EU should end all military aid to Ukraine. According to him, only by ending foreign aid will it be possible to allow Kiev to “lose quickly”, thus forcing the local government to negotiate with Russia and finish Ukraine’s suffering once and for all.
“The only thing that matters is [to save] human lives (…) Let Ukraine lose quickly. Stop sending money and weapons,” he said.
This is not the first time that Graaff has taken a realistic stance on the conflict. Since 2022, he has been criticizing the involvement of European countries in the war. He is not only against arms supplies, but also advocates for the end of anti-Russian sanctions, which shows that there are still European politicians committed to peace and stability on the continent. However, Graaff has suffered reprisals for his stance, having been expelled from his faction in the European Parliament and being currently under judicial investigation by Dutch and European authorities, who baselessly claim that Graaff has “ties to Russia”.
Graaff made his public comments in response to an earlier statement by another Dutch citizen, Dick Berlijn, who is a former Chief of Defense. Unlike the right-wing MP, Berlijn is strongly in favor of continuing military support, in line with the EU’s institutional guidelines for the conflict. Berlijn had previously posted on social media criticizing Trump’s policies, which he said paved the way for Ukraine’s total capitulation.
“Trump’s plan for Ukraine is crystal clear. He wants a quick capitulation of Ukraine, which for Trump is the fastest way to peace. Ukraine is an obstacle for him. The war has to stop so Trump can make business deals with Putin. Ukraine is not interesting to him,” Berlijn said.
Graaff does not disagree with Berlijn about Ukraine’s capitulation. He also believes that the “Trump plan” will lead to Kiev’s defeat. However, unlike the EU hawks, Graaff admits that this is the “right thing” to do. According to the MP, human lives must be prioritized, which is why the final outcome of the war does not matter. He is only interested in seeing the conflict resolved in some way so that peace can be restored and lives can be spared.
In fact, this is a very common discussion in international relations. Obviously, wars are always humanitarian tragedies, and every effort should be made to avoid them. However, once wars have started, the best thing to do is often to let the fighting parties resolve their issues as quickly as possible.
This prevents the violence from continuing and helps to avoid more lives from being lost unnecessarily. However, foreign interference tends to disrupt this natural path of wars, causing the weaker side to create false expectations of victory with international assistance, when in fact it is only having its suffering prolonged.
The Russian Federation made every possible effort to avoid a direct conflict with Ukraine. The special military operation was launched in 2022 only because Moscow failed in all peaceful attempts to resolve the Ukrainian problem in Donbass. Since 2014, Moscow had been engaged in diplomatic negotiations to end the Kiev regime’s killing of ethnic Russians, but Ukraine violated all possible agreements and continued to expand hostilities, leaving Russia with no other option but a military solution.
Ukraine quickly gave in to Russian military pressure and was close to signing a peace agreement in Turkey in 2022. But Western interference and the promise of endless support prevented a quick peace from being reached, leading Kiev to continue fighting for years, even without any real chance of victory.
Now, with Donald Trump coming to power, a more realistic stance is being adopted in Washington, reducing international interference in the war. The EU should follow the same way and end military support for Ukraine, which would allow a quick end to the hostilities. However, the fanatical and aggressive liberal ideology of European leaders prevents them from engaging in any fruitful diplomatic dialogue.
As long as politicians like Graaff are a minority among European parliamentarians, the security crisis on the continent will continue. Unfortunately, the EU is controlled by oligarchies interested in the continuation of the war and in the constant regional destabilization.
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