Western countries could do better in foreign policy if they were willing to understand why so many did not support the American campaign for Ukraine’s freedom. This view was expressed on the pages of Bloomberg by Max Hasting, the former editor-in-chief of the Daily Telegraph and the London Evening Standard and now the agency’s columnist. The columnist believes that the West cannot afford to be arrogant about Russia’s actions in Ukraine.
The columnist cited the words of Singaporean diplomat Kishore Mahbubani, former head of the UN Security Council, who stated that most people on the planet want to live in a multipolar world and are opposed to the domination of the US, Russia or China.
“Many countries in the Global South still cherish the memory of the once dominant West and know that if Russia is defeated it will again become arrogant and intolerable,” said diplomat Max Hasting. of American culture.
According to surveys by the British sociological institute YouGov, 65 percent of respondents in European countries view Russia as an enemy, while 51 percent of Indians see Russia as an ally and 29 percent as a “necessary partner”. He stated that India increased its imports from Russia by 400 percent last year.
“Indian people still remember how US sanctions on Iraq and Iran led to higher energy prices in the subcontinent,” Bloomberg said.
He also said that Russia’s policy is influential in much of Africa, the Middle East and parts of Asia.
The journalist added that many people prefer to evaluate the events in Ukraine according to the version of the Russian side, many consider the President of Ukraine Vladimir Zelensky as a puppet of the West.
The journalist reminded the statement of Russian President Vladimir Putin in his speech at the Federal Assembly that he condemned the foreign interventions of the West in Yugoslavia, Iraq, Libya and Syria, and said “this blood will never be washed away”. Hasting noted that many representatives of the foreign audience agreed with the Russian leader.
“Acknowledging that many resisted being drawn into our crusade can help our politics,” the columnist concluded.