International

Hunger and poverty in Syria – the result of Western blockade policy

by Karin Leukefeld*

(14 February 2023) (Edit.) The tragic and historically outrageous unilateral decision by the Swiss government in February 2022 to endorse EU sanctions against Russia across the board, despite Switzerland’s neutrality, has seriously damaged Switzerland’s role as a neutral mediator. Moreover, it permanently devalued the position of Geneva as a proven venue for negotiations. This is having a noticeable impact already – and, as always with sanctions, primarily on the lower classes and the poor. The following article from Syria by Karin Leukefeld illustrates how this works. (cm)

Why neutral countries should mediate between Russia and Ukraine

by Jeffrey Sachs,* USA

(7 February 2023) Neither Russia nor Ukraine is likely to achieve a decisive military victory in their ongoing war: both sides have considerable room for deadly escalation. Ukraine and its Western allies have little chance of ousting Russia from Crimea and the Donbas region, while Russia has little chance of forcing Ukraine to surrender. As Joe Biden noted in October, the spiral of escalation marks the first direct threat of “nuclear Armageddon” since the Cuban missile crisis 60 years ago.

Ukraine war’s first anniversary and beyond

by M. K. Bhadrakumar,* India

(7 February 2023) The first anniversary of Russia’s special military operation in Ukraine falls on February 24. The Russian strategy of attrition war has not yet produced the desired political outcome but has been a success nonetheless.

Fighting to the last Ukrainian?

by Oskar Lafontaine,* Germany

(29 January 2023) The public debate about the delivery of Leopard tanks to Ukraine is becoming more and more adventurous. Surely we should believe US politicians more: when US Secretary of War Lloyd Austin says: “we want to see Russia weakened to a degree that makes it impossible for it to do what it did in Ukraine with the invasion”, we should believe him.

Japan rearms under Washington’s pressure

by Sara Flounders,* USA

(25 January 2023) (Edit.) In the USA, geopolitical strategies and current foreign policy actions of the US administration are critically analysed from different political perspective. The “Swiss Standpoint” is publishing various authors on this topic. In the following we are publishing Sara Flounders’ analysis of events in Japan.

“The cat is out of the bag”

The US is fighting in Ukraine to preserve its global hegemony

by M. K. Bhadrakumar,* India

(16 January 2023) The bipartisan consensus in the Beltway on the United States being the ‘indispensable’ world power is usually attributed to the neocons who have been the driving force of the US foreign and security policy in successive administrations since the 1970s.