Russia requires secure buffer: Opposing view
Kiev has asked the West for arms. That would not be a wise decision.
(Photo: Sergei Grits, AP)
As
an American who has been doing business with Russia since it emerged as
a market-driven economy, I see the following: Russia has a very real
national interest in maintaining a strong, protective sphere of
political and economic influence along its vast borders.
It
is exactly like the USA, which over time has expanded its influence
beyond its immediate borders and now maintains zones of influence in
many regions of the planet.
OUR VIEW: Russian invasion marks end of era
The
news media say that the Russian Federation has invaded Ukraine, that
Russian soldiers and mechanized armor are crossing Ukraine's border.
Not likely.
Yes,
many Russian citizens have crossed the Ukrainian border and joined with
armed anti-Kiev rebels in Donetsk and Luhansk. Last I heard, there were
3,000. Perhaps more.
Most
are trained veterans who have seen action in Afghanistan, Chechnya and
elsewhere. These veterans train, strategize and directly help the rebel
forces in eastern Ukraine. They are not active-duty Russian Federation troops.
In
the late 1970s, when I was working in Africa, I met dozens of
Americans, all ex-Vietnam War veterans, fighting for various sides —
some for money and quite a few for beliefs. The same situation repeats
worldwide today.
Kiev
has asked the West for arms, and NATO is raising the issue. That would
not be a wise decision. Russia requires an unaligned Ukraine, a secure
buffer, which in this case is populated mostly by culturally aligned
Russians.
[SOL:
WHY HAVE THE U.S. ISOLATED CUBA FOR DECADES? THE U.S. REFUSES TO ALLOW
RUSSIA TO EXPAND IN THE AMERICAN HEMISPHERE AND YET THE U.S. HAS
EXPANDED GLOBALLY. WHY IS THAT??]
The
track record of NATO encroachment on Russia's historically
oft-challenged borders does not reflect the way "ethical partners" are
supposed to behave. Supplying arms to a wobbly, high-strung Kiev seeking
"democratic" entitlements from the United States and the European Union
will only serve to give false hopes to that politically unstable state,
which cannot be securely satisfied.
If
there really is a desire to end this civil war in Ukraine, it will
require Kiev to accept the de facto independence of Donetsk and Luhansk
as separate republics, and get on peacefully with life and business.
Paul Goncharoff, an American businessman living in Moscow, is chairman of the ethics and membership committees, Organization of Corporate Directors and Managers, Russian Federation.
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