Unlike on the battlefield, in the field of diplomacy this war is not only between two countries. In one way or another, in one camp or another, almost all the countries of the world have positioned themselves for or against Russia. Some without a second thought, some easily and some with difficulty. The only certainty is that after the end of this war, the geopolitical situation on the entire planet will not be the same.
Against Putin
The vast majority of Western countries are clearly against the Russian invasion. The United States, the member states of the European Union and almost all NATO countries. Even before the war broke out, the leaders of these countries had either warned Moscow not to proceed with its plan, or attempted through diplomatic channels to thwart what was coming. After the start of the war, the Western countries were quick to condemn Moscow's stance by adopting sanctions that dealt a serious blow to the Russian economy. So did Japan and Australia.
Within days they cut almost all their economic ties with Russia, which seemed to take Putin by surprise. The Russian president did not expect and was not prepared that the West would react immediately and in a coordinated manner.
The Kremlin, however, believes that the "operation in Ukraine" was the reason for imposing sanctions, since it believes that all these moves are part of a plan aimed at destroying and isolating Russia to serve its interests.
Sanctions were imposed not only by governments, but also by multinational companies that left the Russian market in a few weeks, taking the country back to the days of the Soviet Union.
The case of Cyprus
As a member state of the European Union, Cyprus has followed the path of sanctions by unequivocally condemning the Russian invasion. As a country with fresh memories of a military invasion and still experiencing occupation, Cyprus could only condemn the Russian intervention, the violation of international law and the violation of Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity.
Nevertheless, our country became the subject of international debate because of reports that it opposed the deletion of Russian banks from SWIFT at the beginning of the war. Competent sources insist to this day that Cyprus never stood in the way of this decision. Less discussed was the warning to reverse the decision to close the Nicosia FIR if Turkey attempted to exploit the Cyprus embargo to divert flights from Russia to the occupied territories.
The peculiarity of Cyprus lies in the fact that until recently there were strong ties of cooperation with Russia on many levels. Transnational cooperation and financial cooperation between natural and legal persons. After all, many thousands of Russian citizens live and do business in our country. This is a relationship that Nicosia would ideally like to protect, but politically it could not differentiate itself from the West on such a serious issue.
They support Russia
With closed eyes Lukashenko's Belarus supports Russia's moves, which cannot be ruled out to be seen participating in military operations. To date, it has been doing so informally and unofficially, supporting Moscow with volunteer fighters and more.
A similar reaction is seen in Serbia, which has been supporting Moscow without saying so because of the country's long-standing problems with NATO. It was only 23 years ago that NATO troops attacked Belgrade in the war in Yugoslavia. Something the Serbs still remember very well.
The same logic applies to Kim Jong-un's North Korea, Bashar al-Assad's Syria and Eritrea. They are the countries that, along with Russia and Belarus, voted against the UN General Assembly resolution condemning the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Armenia, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan are also considered to be contiguous states with Russia, which they choose to quietly support for now. Just as countries such as Cuba, Venezuela, Nicaragua, Nicaragua, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Iran, Iran, Iraq, Pakistan, India, Bolivia and South Africa do. Some of them are keeping a level distance and some others are formally calling for a de-escalation without referring to war or Russian invasion. But all of them see the scales tipping towards Moscow.
China's role
In recent days, China has been presented as a power that could enter the war on Russia's side. Relations between the two are excellent and Beijing has refrained from condemning the Russian invasion, only describing developments in Eastern Europe as unpleasant. Washington recently shared information that Russia was seeking military assistance from China, which denied it. Only Western countries are not convinced and warn that in case of Beijing's involvement in the war, they will also hand out sanctions to the Asian superpower.
Turkey Israel
At the end of this list are two countries that are trying to assume a mediating role in order to bring Russia and Ukraine closer together. Turkey and Israel demonstrate neutrality and try to act as bridges for the two warring countries to resolve their differences through dialogue rather than arms.
Contents of this article including associated images are belongs Cyprus Times
Views & opinions expressed are those of the author and/or Cyprus Times
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