John Mearsheimer On Who Gains The Most From The Ukraine-Russia War & What Could End Putin’s Assault
Renowned political scientist John J Mearsheimer blamed NATO’s expansionist agenda as the main reason for Putin’s decision to invade Ukraine. In an exclusive interview with Zakka Jacob, the Chicago University professor said that the US has been trying to turn Ukraine into a de facto member of NATO and Russia views this as an existential threat. Mearsheimer also explained who stands to gain most from the war. Watch this full interview here for all details.
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NATO was created in 1949 as a defensive counterweight to Joseph Stalin’s assemblage of troops on the eastern flank of Europe.
As such, NATO will never aggressively attack Russian frontier. Alternatively, it’s to deter Russia from doing the same.
Under this premise, Vladimir Putin has absolutely nothing to be alarmed about no matter how many other countries decide to join the Alliance.
Putin genuinely wants the former Soviet Republics to be on their own so that he can fulfill his overt ambition to bully them so as to reconstitute the former USSR, contrary to what John Mearsheimer thinks.
NATO is not an existential threat to Russia and never will. But Russia is a threat to its defenceless neighbours.
In 2008, Ukraine, Belarus and Kazakhstan had an opportunity to join NATO but France and Germany blocked their attempt so as to appease Vladimir Putin who wants out.
That was a monumental mistake. Had Ukraine been allowed into the Alliance then, there would have been no attack on Georgia in 2008, no annexation of Crimea I’m 2014 or no war in Ukraine today.
A grand opportunity to keep Putin at bay was missed in 2008. Now the collective hope of the world is that the conflict in Ukraine does not metastasize to greater Europe and, subsequently, to the rest of the world.
Ramesh
NATO was created in 1949 as a defensive counterweight to Joseph Stalin’s assemblage of troops on the eastern flank of Europe.
As such, NATO will never aggressively attack Russian frontier. Alternatively, it’s to deter Russia from doing the same.
Under this premise, Vladimir Putin has absolutely nothing to be alarmed about no matter how many other countries decide to join the Alliance.
Putin genuinely wants the former Soviet Republics to be on their own so that he can fulfill his overt ambition to bully them so as to reconstitute the former USSR, contrary to what John Mearsheimer thinks.
NATO is not an existential threat to Russia and never will. But Russia is a threat to its defenceless neighbours.
In 2008, Ukraine, Belarus and Kazakhstan had an opportunity to join NATO but France and Germany blocked their attempt so as to appease Vladimir Putin who wants out.
That was a monumental mistake. Had Ukraine been allowed into the Alliance then, there would have been no attack on Georgia in 2008, no annexation of Crimea I’m 2014 or no war in Ukraine today.
A grand opportunity to keep Putin at bay was missed in 2008. Now the collective hope of the world is that the conflict in Ukraine does not metastasize to greater Europe and, subsequently, to the rest of the world.
Rames
Angela Merkel and Nicolas Sarkozy were the two European leaders who voted to deny Ukraine, Belarus, and Kazakhstan entry into NATO at the 2008 Bucharest, Romania summit.
After the recent discovery of the alleged Russian massacre in Bucha, President Volodymir Zelenskyy has asked the two to visit the site to witness the consequences of their fatal decision.
Outing fires in far away places while your backyard burning (DR) again.
Food for thought:
Putin turns 70 this October. He has well in excess of $200 billion USD in .numerous assets spread all over the world in not-so-cleverly disguised forms. This is well documented.
The question is, how did he accumulate all this wealth? Certainly not as a KGB agent. At the same time, his people are barely able to make ends meet.
No one lives forever. So when will the Dictator start to enjoy his wealth? Will he take it to the grave? Sometimes you have to shake your head!
Is that not nice,good comment….now go do American Politicians in Congress, Senate, and if you have time DO THEIR CHILDREN.I can’t be with you I was invited to a party at Obama’s beach house
Are you ok?
When the Warsaw Pact was disbanded, NATO should also been disbanded.
Most of the world don’t know the other side of the story.
This may eventually split the world into white and non white nations.
Here’s some important background information on the Warsaw Pact:
“Formally known as the Treaty of Friendship, Co-operation and Mutual Assistance, the Warsaw Pact was created on 14 May 1955, immediately after the accession of West Germany to the Alliance.
It complemented the Council for Mutual Economic Assistance, which was the regional economic organisation set up by the Soviet Union in January 1949 for the communist states of Central and Eastern Europe.
The Warsaw Pact embodied what was referred to as the Eastern bloc, while NATO and its member countries represented the Western bloc.
NATO and the Warsaw Pact were ideologically opposed and, over time, built up their own defences starting an arms race that lasted throughout the Cold War.
The Warsaw Pact was declared at an end on 25 February 1991 and the Czechoslovak President, Vaclav Havel, formally declared an end to it on 1 July 1991.
Gorbachev’s policy of openness (Glasnost) and restructuring (Perestroika), together with other initiatives, opened the way for popular uprisings.
The Berlin Wall fell in November 1989 and communist governments in Poland, Hungary, Czechoslovakia, East Germany, Romania and Bulgaria started to fall.
The break-up of the Warsaw Pact was shortly followed by the dissolution of the Soviet Union in December 1991.”
Further to the above, any suggestion that NATO should have been abolished at the same time as the Warsaw Pact is reckless and foolish. No one in their right mind would ever entertain such a notion.
That is your opinion Ramesh. That is also one of the reasons that we have this mess on our hands!