South Africa should judge Russia by its actions, not its words
Putin is no ‘brother in arms’ for Africa against colonialism, write the ambassadors of Norway and Lithuania
It has been two years since Russia started its illegal full-scale war against Ukraine — the largest attack on a European country since World War 2. But the Russian aggression against Ukraine has lasted for 10 years, starting with the covert occupation, sham referendum and annexation of Crimea — and occupation in East Ukraine — in 2014.
Russia’s war against Ukraine has caused at least 20,000 civilian deaths and the displacement of 15million people. The International Criminal Court (ICC) found that there are reasonable grounds to believe that President Vladimir Putin and his commissioner for children’s rights, Maria LvovaBelova, bear responsibility for the war crime of unlawful deportation and transfer of children from occupied areas of Ukraine to Russia.
Russia has weaponised food by targeting Ukraine’s food infrastructure, affecting Ukrainian exports of grain and other foodstuffs, including to Africa, thereby exacerbating global food insecurity.
The Russian authorities have committed war crimes, including acts of torture, wilful killing, rape and other sexual violence, as reported by the UN’s commission of inquiry on Ukraine. They have isolated themselves from the rest of Europe and brought back terrible memories of World War 2.
Their war is a gross, deliberate and destructive attack on international law and multilateralism and a direct threat to European security. Moscow demands the right to dominate its neighbourhood, reducing the nations there to colonial subjects and denying their agency to determine their own future.
Moscow meets any criticism of its actions and our support for Ukraine with accusations of socalled “Russophobia”. But standing for principles of democracy and compliance with international law, supporting nations that are suppressed and attacked by larger and stronger powers, is not “Russophobia”. Russia started this war and can end it today by withdrawing its forces from Ukraine.
On some occasions, we pick up comments here in South Africa that “Europe has become militarised”. It is true that Norway, Lithuania and many other countries in Europe spend more on defence than before Russia invaded Ukraine. Anything else would have been strange given our proximity to a Russia that is threatening its neighbours. Russia’s military spending has skyrocketed to record levels this year (7% of GDP or 40% of this year’s federal budget). This leaves us with little choice but to respond.
Some believe that Russia wants dialogue and co-operation to reduce tensions. However, we hold that Russia should be judged by its actions and not its words. The military operations against Georgia in 2008 and against Ukraine in 2014 and 2022 are indisputable proof that the Kremlin favours threats and the use of force against smaller neighbours.
Russia’s understanding of sovereignty is rooted in an earlier epoch of empires and colonial powers that saw “spheres of privileged interest” as a natural right. This approach to international relations is embedded in proposals for a “panEuropean security architecture”. It also resembles the philosophy of the South African apartheid state that demanded control over Namibia and Angola through threats, subversion and military means.
Russia has been trying to convince the peoples of Africa that it is a brother in arms against “colonialism ”— a deeply hypocritical claim. Putin has compared himself to the 18th-century Russian Tsar Peter the Great, who initiated several wars to expand the Russian empire. It is apparently painful for Russia that it has lost its empire.
Lithuania and other Baltic, Caucasian and Central Asian nations suffered severely during the 1940-1990 Russian occupation. Thousands of Lithuanians were exiled, tortured, and killed in the Stalinist era. Russia’s actions in the Baltics and other areas of occupation at that time are now being repeated in Ukraine. Russia is not fighting Nato, but its democratic neighbours.
The idea that Nato, or the US, is somehow to blame for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is an argument we sometimes hear in South Africa. The apparent rationale is that Russia was allegedly provoked when Nato “expanded” eastwards after the end of the Cold War. As neighbours to Russia, we see it differently.
Contrary to the betrayal narrative cultivated by Russia, the Soviet Union was never offered any formal guarantee on the limits of Nato enlargement post-1990. Russia’s new leaders did not question the fundamental principle that countries in Europe were completely free to make their own security arrangements.
In the “Paris Charter” from 1990 and the NatoRussia Founding Act signed in 1997, all of Europe agreed that all countries are free to develop their own relations, including those related to security policy and alliances.
Furthermore, in the Budapest memorandum of 1994, Russia agreed to respect Ukraine’s sovereignty and national borders, and even to protect them, in return for Kyiv giving up its nuclear arsenal and missiles. No wonder no-one in Europe trusts Russia. No wonder Russia’s neighbours seek protection in Nato.
Citizens in Norway, Lithuania, and South Africa enjoy democratic rights and freedom of expression. All international rankings of democracy, human rights and civil liberties put Russia far behind us. In Russia, political opposition is jailed or suppressed, and Russians who speak up against the war in Ukraine risk harsh sentences. The militarisation of the school curriculum echoes Soviet times, and the renewed glorification of Stalin reflects a regression into a brutal and oppressive past.
The brand of nationalism and imperial nostalgia we see in the governing circles of Russia is the driving force behind the invasion of Ukraine. The ruling United Russia party has tried to export its ideology through partnerships with the far right in Europe, including with deeply racist factions.
For countries such as Lithuania, the freedom regained in 1990 equalled the freedom gained by former colonies in Africa 30 years earlier. As two small countries that have been subject to centuries of European big-power dominance, Norway and
Lithuania do not want a return to a Europe dominated by military aggression and an imperial mindset.
Russia alone stands in the way of peace, because Russia’s price for peace is Ukraine’s capitulation, Ukraine’s territory and Ukraine’s future, including that of its children.
We actively support President Volodymyr Zelensky’s peace formula, in the understanding that the pursuit of peace is important, but only on terms defined by Ukraine — the victim of illegal aggression. We are pleased to work with South Africa in the framework of the Ukraine peace formula. We also welcome the African peace initiative led by South Africa.
Norway and Lithuania want a peaceful, democratic and stable neighbour. However, for the foreseeable future, we must base our foreign policy on how Russia acts, and not on wishful thinking. Our countries will never accept the logic of “spheres of influence ”— neither for us, nor for Ukraine. For us, Nato membership is life insurance.
If we abandon the core principles of the UN Charter to appease an aggressor, can any UN member state feel confident that it is protected? If we allow Ukraine to be carved up, is the independence of any nation secure?
Our countries will continue to support Ukraine in its legitimate and heroic fight for survival, including with military support, reconstruction and humanitarian aid — because Ukraine’s selfdefence is vital also for our security.