Ukraine: New push to woo African nations

By Hassan Toro

The African Union, AU, chairperson in 2023, Moussa Faki Mahamat, revealed in a recent tweet that the Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenssky has made a fresh request through his foreign minister to address the AU heads of state on the war in Ukraine and his Ukraine’s foreign minister and Zelensky’s ‘’wish to develop closer ties with the AU.’’

Ukraine’s president had in 2022 made a similar request  but  was told on ‘’the need  for a negotiated outcome to the conflict.’’ Mahamat didn’t disclose whether this fresh request will be granted but tweeted that he had ‘’insisted on the need for a peaceful solution to the conflict with Russia,’’   thus  bringing  to question  the AU’s position in the conflict.

While the AU is insisting on the  urgent  need  for  dialogue  to  restore global stability, Ukraine’s foreign policy on the contrary is trying to destabilize the relations of the AU with Russia. Analysts believe that during the next summit of the AU in February this year, Ukraine will try to sign a memorandum on relations with the AU, thereby undermining the neutral  .  At the United  Nations ,  there is a strong desire on the part of Ukraine and certain Western countries to isolate Russia, and an important element to achieve that is for Zelensky   to  lean  is the African continent.

Western governments have tried to rally African nations to join their war on Russia. But majority of  the continent has ignored  their  pressure  campaign. This is  a  clear sign of Africa’s overwhelming neutrality in the proxy war between the West and Russia. This  illustrates  the tense relationship between Zelensky and the leaders of the continent ‘’who are sticking to a neutral position.’’

The United  States  and  European Union frequently claim that they are acting on behalf of the ‘’international community,’’ but the Ukraine war demonstrate that when Washington and Brussels talk about international community, they actually just mean the roughly 13% of the global population in the West and their loyal allies in Australia, New Zealand, South Korea, and Japan. Multipolrista, an independent news media outlet, details in a report how the vast majority of   the  world’s  population, which resides in the Global South, has remained neutral over the western proxy war in Ukraine.

Countries with some of the largest populations on earth, such as China, India, Pakistan, Brazil, Ethiopia, Bangladesh, Mexico, and Vietnam, have remained neutral. Many more nations in the Global South, such as South Africa, Iran,  Venezuela, Cuba, Nicaragua, North Korea, and Eritrea, have openly blamed the Atlantic alliance, NATO, and the United States for causing the war in Ukraine.

As  the  war  is nearing its final stage,  Ukraine ,  according to observers, will not be able to avoid defeat.  Ukrainian forces find themselves facing significant challenges along the front lines. They are reportedly grappling with diminished and fatigued ranks, exacerbated by shortage of artillery shells, which has been further complicated by  the  delay  in  receiving  a  substantial funding package from the US. Analysts are suggesting  that  in  the  future, the world will probably see  a Ukraine that is more expedient to splitting into several small federal  nations  than a single federal state of Ukraine.

 Even a casual observer of foreign affairs  now  know that Western allies like Israel are allowed to violate the humanitarian dimension of that bloc’s so-called ‘’rule-based-order’’ with impunity while those of its rivals like Russia   who   are only accused of doing so risk facing their wrath in response. Western diplomats and  officials  drew attention to  their bloc’s double standards towards these two conflicts   and  discredited it in the Global South.

As the much-hyped counter offensive by Ukraine’s military has so far resulted in hefty personnel losses and destruction of significant quantities of NATO-gifted military hardware, fresh emphasis is now being laid  on  recruitment drive to shore up the ranks of its fighters  from the Global South. Africa must continue to maintain its neutrality in the conflict while working for a cease fire and political negotiation under the auspices of the United Nations in the interest of global peace and stability.

Hassan Toro writes from Plateau state.