West Doesn’t Respect Opinions of Majority & It Can Lead to Global War, South African Professor Says

The West ignores the Global South which is pointing out the meaninglessness of peace talks on Ukraine without the participation of Russia, and it doesn't respect the "global majority," Professor David Monyae, Director of Centre for Africa-China Studies and Confucius Institute at University of Johannesburg, told Sputnik Africa.

"I think the West has no respect for the global majority. I think we've seen it in the past, and we continue to see it now that they use old tricks in the book to bring the global majority to their side. When it suits the United States and Western countries, they talk about democracy, they talk about international law, and humanitarian [issues], but in reality, where their interests are at risk, we see them going using other means, as is the case at the moment with the Israeli-Palestinian conflict," he pointed out.

The conflict in Ukraine is no exception: the United Nations General Assembly is being utilized against certain countries, such as Russia or China, when it suits Western interests. The West employs trade incentives and other enticements to get poorer countries to join its side, thereby granting it the legitimacy it seeks in its conflict against Russia.

"It's well articulated within the West as [...] NATO operating outside well-agreed structures of global governance, such as the United Nations, and NATO in itself playing a role as if it is the United Nations," Monyae said.

However, this approach seems to be ineffective now, the professor pondered.

"I think the global majority is now quite aware [of] the tricks that are used in Washington, and, therefore, I think [...] the countries belonging to the BRICS and a number of others within the Non-Alignment Movement are making their case quite clear that you cannot have peace without the other part. And that position itself is not a position that one would easily read as if it's a pro-Russia position. It is a pro-peace position [...]," Monyae said.

Moreover, any agreement that will be reached between Russia and Ukraine should have enforcement mechanisms such as the denuclearization of Ukraine, which would involve the international community sending nuclear experts to monitor and ensure compliance, he elaborated. Additionally, it is important that the United Nations reinforce its legitimacy and its laws and that international law is upheld rather than relying on a so-called world order dictated by a few nations outside of the collective agreements enshrined in the UN charter.

Although Ukraine is technically a party to the conflict, the real power behind it is the West, that is simply using the country to achieve its goals, as it's been repeatedly pointed out by Russian President Vladimir Putin. And the main objective of the West is to "break" Russia, Monyae said. That's why Western countries and NATO in particular don't agree to Russia's peace proposals and ignore the country's readiness to sit down at the negotiation table.

"[NATO's goal] is to put in a right-wing fascist government in Ukraine, as well as to ensure that NATO troops are face-to-face with Russian troops at the border of Russia. And to an extent, in time, they will then put nuclear weapons in that country. This is the expansion of NATO in that part, Russia itself. [...] I think what is happening there is the intention to strengthen the hegemony of the West," the speaker said.

It also explained why international attempts to discuss peace without Russia, like the one that took place in Switzerland last week, are doomed to fail.

"I, personally, see this conference as a way of mobilizing the international community against Russia. It had nothing to do with peace, and that in itself was consolidated and reinforced by the G7 in Italy, that pushes on condemning Russia and not opening a window of opportunity, as President Putin has done, to ensure that differences between Russia, Ukraine, and NATO are narrowed," Monyae shared his views.

Moreover, the West is trying to break not only Russia but also BRICS as the bloc is "increasingly becoming a greater threat to the United States and the West." Their position on the Ukraine conflict differs from the Western one as well.

"We have seen that BRICS countries, some of them, did attend; however, in a very wise move, they collectively refused to sign this agreement, this communiqué, designed by the Western world. Instead, they put their position quite clearly that they are pro fair Russia involvement in the peace process to bring about peace," Monyae said.

However, the West's efforts to expand its global dominance do not end with attempts to destroy Russia and the BRICS bloc. Its imperialist plans extend all the way to China, the professor noted.

"The agenda for that [blocking the signing of a peace agreement in spring 22] was to pour in NATO weaponry, to pour in Western resources, use Ukraine as a proxy in the NATO's agenda to break not just Ukraine but also to break Russia itself to ensure that it moves even much closer and build and mobilize more resources to break Russia with an agenda to proceed to break China as well, and reassert the global agenda, which is hegemony, nothing else, of the Western world," Monyae told Sputnik Africa.

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Such Western actions can lead to a truly dangerous development — global conflict, warned the speaker.

"More and more weapons are being poured into Ukraine, and more and more resources and there is no move to try to make peace, but the use of the battlefield to resolve differences seems to be the only way and the only option that NATO has," he said.

Thus, Russia will have to respond by holding exercises closer to the United States, such as in Cuba. In Europe, Russia has to also take countermeasures, and it is doing so, the scholar reckoned.

"That in itself tells us that it is not just a Russia-Ukraine-NATO conflict. This is increasingly becoming a global conflict. [...] [The West] is crossing the red lines. [...] The world is at this stage that an accidental World War Three could spark, given this misunderstanding, clear moves to undermine Russia's security," Monyae underscored.

In discussing the ways in which Russia is defending its geopolitical interests, the speaker highlighted the fact that, considering the historical connections between Russia and Ukraine, Russia's involvement in the war has been a strategically planned effort to minimize both military and civilian losses.

"If you compare that with what's happening and what Israel is doing to Palestinians, where there's random bombardment of civilians, if Russia was taking a similar position, I think this war would have ended way back. But we've noticed that it is fought using all precautions and moving steadily, and, in itself, we are worried that the other party, NATO, is not in any way considering the lives of Ukrainians; they are considering pouring more weapons," he said.

Lastly, the professor touched upon the legitimacy of Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelensky. The speaker noted that both in his country and internationally, Zelensky is viewed as a president who was not properly elected after his term expired this spring. And the approach of mobilizing the international community to provide legitimacy for his position and that of the West "is not working."

"The West is no longer going to the [UN] General Assembly, especially in light of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. They would rather have this side, the so-called summit, the one in Switzerland. And countries are playing along, but openly, principally disagreeing with the trick, disagreeing with the position, and therefore, we can certainly say this is not working," Monyae concluded.