Throughout a significant summit in Lithuania, NATO Secretary Normal Jens Stoltenberg mentioned Ukraine is “nearer than ever” to becoming a member of NATO, however the navy alliance is resisting calls to present Kyiv a timeline to membership. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is attending the NATO summit and is assembly with President Biden and different world leaders. This comes as plenty of nations have introduced new navy help for Ukraine. “The primary situation for Ukraine membership [to NATO] is an finish to this warfare,” says Andreas Zumach, protection correspondent for the left-wing German day by day Die Tageszeitung. We additionally converse with CodePink’s Medea Benjamin, who has simply returned from a go to to Ukraine, the place she says individuals are “being fed a day by day weight loss plan of irrational expectations” by the federal government about how Ukrainian forces are profitable the warfare. The reality, she says, is “there’s a stalemate on the bottom,” and requires nations to come back to the negotiation desk.
TRANSCRIPT
This can be a rush transcript. Copy might not be in its last kind.
AMY GOODMAN: NATO is saying Ukraine is, quote, “nearer than ever” to becoming a member of the navy alliance, however NATO nations are resisting calls to present Kyiv a timeline for membership. NATO leaders are assembly in Vilnius, Lithuania, right this moment for the second day of talks. In a communiqué issued Tuesday, the 31 nations in NATO mentioned, quote, “We can be able to increase an invite to Ukraine to affix the alliance when allies agree and situations are met.” That is NATO Secretary Normal Jens Stoltenberg.
JENS STOLTENBERG: We reaffirmed that Ukraine will develop into a member of NATO and agreed to take away the requirement for a membership motion plan. This could change Ukraine’s membership path from a two-step course of to a one-step course of. We additionally made clear that we are going to subject an invite for Ukraine to affix NATO when allies agree and situations are met.
AMY GOODMAN: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is attending the NATOsummit and is assembly right this moment with President Biden and different world leaders. Zelensky has criticized NATO for failing to present Ukraine a timeline to affix the navy alliance.
PRESIDENT VOLODYMYR ZELENSKY: On our agenda, we’ve, I feel, for right this moment three precedence questions. The primary one is weapon packages, new weapon packages for supporting our military on the battlefield. And that’s one. The second, I feel, the invitation to NATO, and we wish to be on the identical web page with all people, with all of the understanding. And for right this moment, what we — what we hear and perceive, that we are going to have this invitation when safety measures will permit. Sure, so I wish to focus on with our companions all these items, and may. We’ll converse right this moment and battle for this, its safety ensures for Ukraine on the way in which to NATO.
AMY GOODMAN: Over the previous 48 hours, plenty of nations have introduced new navy help for Ukraine. France has agreed to ship Ukraine long-range cruise missiles. A gaggle of 11 NATO nations have pledged to start coaching Ukrainian pilots to fly U.S.-made F-16 warplanes. Germany has finalized a brand new $770 million navy package deal that features extra tanks and Patriot missiles. G7 leaders are additionally anticipated to announce right this moment a brand new wide-ranging safety pact with Ukraine.
We’re joined now by two visitors. In Washington, Medea Benjamin joins us, co-founder of CodePink, co-author of the brand new e-book Conflict in Ukraine: Making Sense of a Mindless Battle. She’s simply again from visiting western Ukraine. And in Berlin, we’re joined by Andreas Zumach. He’s a protection correspondent for the left-wing German day by day Die Tageszeitung.
We welcome you each to Democracy Now! Andreas, let’s start with you. Are you able to reply to what’s occurred on the NATO summit in Vilnius to date? And notably additionally discuss Germany’s place vis-à-vis Ukraine and the US.
ANDREAS ZUMACH: Effectively, each Germany but additionally the U.S., the Biden administration, have been in opposition to making a clear-cut dedication to Ukraine’s membership at this level of time. The primary motive is the calculation in Washington that by fall this yr, the so-called spring offensive of the Ukrainian forces might need made some positive factors, after which it is going to be attainable to name for negotiations. Whether or not this calculation will work or not, I’m very skeptical. However the hope is in Washington that Putin can be ready then to speak. But when now NATO would have given a transparent sign to a NATOmembership of Ukraine, Putin wouldn’t have joined. This can be a concern.
And I feel the dilemma is even greater than it has been already earlier than this NATOsummit. The primary situation for Ukraine membership is an finish to this warfare. And I’m satisfied so long as the difficulty of Ukrainian NATO membership is on the desk, this warfare is not going to finish. And this dilemma has develop into even greater after this NATO summit. And to date, all the general public statements we’ve heard are considerably dishonest.
JUAN GONZÁLEZ: And, Andreas, what’s your sense of the general public sentiment in Germany because the warfare drags on? Clearly, the European Union is going through much more financial dislocation in consequence. How is public sentiment in Germany evolving?
ANDREAS ZUMACH: The newest critical ballot has been taken on the finish of Might by the general public tv community ARD. And in response to this ballot, solely 43% assist additional weapons deliveries to Ukraine. This determine is method down from nicely above 75% throughout earlier months of the warfare. And the opposite result’s 55% assume that the diplomatic efforts to place an finish to the warfare should not adequate. This quantity has steadily climbed from actually zero firstly of the warfare, and I count on it would climb even additional within the upcoming weeks and months.
JUAN GONZÁLEZ: Now, there have been studies of back-channel conferences between former U.S. nationwide safety officers and Russian officers with the purpose of laying a groundwork for negotiations. Might these back-channel talks be a method of truly transferring ahead whereas claiming nonetheless to be offering all-out assist to Ukraine militarily?
ANDREAS ZUMACH: Effectively, first, we’ve to recollect all efforts to finish wars, for the reason that finish of the Second World Conflict, have begun with, roughly, secret back-channel efforts, typically via mediation of third events. And let’s hope that this may sooner or later achieve success.
However that is a part of the dishonesty I’ve talked about. Secretary of State Blinken already 10 weeks in the past has mentioned publicly, quote, “The Ukraine authorities of President Zelensky must be ready to make territorial concessions on the new negotiation desk,” which suggests, as an illustration, to surrender both the Crimean Peninsula and even, maybe, of the jap provinces, the Donbas. Alternatively, the publicly declared purpose of the Zelensky authorities is to reconquer all territories at the moment managed or occupied by Russian forces, and which incorporates Crimea and the entire of the Donbas. This doesn’t match collectively. So, it stays to be seen how the Biden administration will have the ability to carry Zelensky so far to just accept no matter sort of territorial concessions.
I don’t assume principally that it’s good if this warfare would lead to territorial concessions, and I feel it could be a lot better to have some sort of referendums held each within the Crimean and within the Donbas, not referendums like again in 2014, not managed and arranged by Russia, however managed and arranged by the United Nations. And there must be a query on the voting sheet, which was not on the sheet again in March 2014, and this might be the choice of a far-reaching autonomy each for the Crimean Peninsula and likewise for the disputed Donbas areas, which might imply the place you’ve got Russian-majority inhabitants, Russia must be the language, but additionally the likelihood to lift your personal taxes, and which you don’t have to surrender to the central authorities in Kyiv, and likewise decentralization, federalization of the Ukraine, which might not solely be needed for the Crimean and the Donbas however for the entire Ukraine. I feel we’ve been at this level earlier than on the Minsk agreements in February 2015.
And I additionally wish to remind our viewers and listeners that the Zelensky authorities in March final yr, on the final official negotiation spherical between Russian and Ukrainian authorities delegations in Istanbul, the official proposal of the Zelensky authorities was, primary, to surrender the thought of NATO membership; quantity two, neutrality for the Ukraine; quantity three, no overseas navy bases, neither Russian nor NATO-Western; quantity 4, binding and dependable safety ensures by plenty of nations; quantity 5, we’d be ready to freeze the difficulty of the Crimean Peninsula for one more 15 years, have one other 15 years of time to barter with Russia; and, quantity six, an analogous state of affairs for the Donbas. I feel there isn’t a method round someway one has to get again to this place.
AMY GOODMAN: Andreas, I described your newspaper, Die Tageszeitung, as “left-wing.” Would you describe it in that method? And should you might say whether or not it could be correct to say that the Inexperienced Get together, the occasion of the nation’s present overseas minister, Annalena Baerbock, are essentially the most sympathetic to Ukraine and the least more likely to favor territorial concessions, and nearly all of the supporters of the far-right populist Various for Germany, AfD, consider Ukraine ought to relinquish territory?
ANDREAS ZUMACH: Effectively, the query, Amy, what’s left and what’s proper, has been an increasing number of distorted for the reason that finish of the Chilly Conflict 33 years in the past. Die Tageszeitung has at all times been very progressive on human rights points, on ladies’s and feminist points, and primarily on environmental points.
For the final 16 months, I’d not describe the place the mainstream within the paper has taken on the Ukrainian warfare as a left place, and subsequently, I’m considerably remoted perhaps with the place I simply spelled out. However the paper is just about supporting the official Western authorities insurance policies, and as does the Inexperienced Get together, completely, with only a few exceptions of some people who find themselves now pushed to the fringes of the occasion. They usually use a rhetoric, as an illustration, International Minister Annalena Baerbock, describing their method as feminist overseas coverage, and now attempt to legitimize even navy assist, even stronger navy assist, as much as nuclear deterrence for the Europeans, as part of feminist overseas coverage. I’ve many issues with this sort of arguments.
JUAN GONZÁLEZ: I’d prefer to carry Medea Benjamin into the dialog, of CodePink. Medea, you’ve not too long ago visited Ukraine. Might you discuss what you noticed there?
MEDEA BENJAMIN: Sure. I used to be within the western a part of Ukraine and talked to many individuals about their visions for the long run. And they’re being fed a day by day weight loss plan of irrational expectations that Ukraine is profitable this warfare, that Ukraine can win the warfare, that profitable means taking again each inch of Donbas and the Crimea, and, after all, horrible hatred of Russia, that even interprets into shops having indicators on them, “The language of the oppressor is not going to be allowed in right here,” folks saying they hate simply listening to the sound of the Russian language.
I perceive, within the midst of a warfare the place we noticed funerals happening day-after-day, after we went to the freshly minted graveyard and noticed a whole bunch of graves of younger males whose members of the family have been there weeping, how folks really feel. However this isn’t the truth on the bottom. As we noticed within the leaked Pentagon paperwork, and as we see within the day by day makes an attempt by Ukraine to win this counteroffensive, there’s a stalemate on the bottom. Ukraine just isn’t going to win again each inch of the nation.
And so, those that have extra lifelike views of this, I feel, have prevailed on the NATO summit of claiming that it’s unattainable to present a date for Ukraine to enter NATO, as a result of you may’t enter NATO whereas there’s a warfare occurring. And whereas this subject of Ukraine being a member of NATO is on the desk, the Russians will hold combating. So, the tragedy is that the poor Ukrainians are on this catch-22, and there have to be cooler heads prevailing to say that the one solution to remedy this downside is to name for a ceasefire and negotiations.
AMY GOODMAN: I wished to ask you, Medea — you went to Lviv after your collaborating within the Vienna Worldwide Summit for Peace in Ukraine. Are you able to describe what occurred there, having venues cancel on you?
MEDEA BENJAMIN: Effectively, sure, to begin with, the Vienna summit was an amazing success, however that was regardless of efforts by the Ukrainian neighborhood, and notably the Ukrainian ambassador to Austria, to attempt to cancel our occasion. And, actually, they have been profitable in getting the Commerce Union Confederation, two days earlier than the occasion, to drag the plug and never allow us to use the venue, simply as they managed to get the Press Membership to not allow us to have our press convention there. The press in Ukraine was extraordinarily hostile to us, characterizing our audio system as Putin apologists, which is completely ridiculous. So, regardless of all of that, we did have this occasion, and it went off extraordinarily nicely, with representatives of 32 nations there, together with representatives from Ukraine and from Russia.
However I have to say that these from Ukraine and Russia have been afterwards attacked by their very own folks. And this reveals the sort of censorship and hostility that exists. I traveled all through many nations in Japanese Europe and located that journalists who have been calling for negotiations have been dropping their jobs. Folks have been afraid to talk out. I additionally attended a gathering in Eire the place there was a pushback, identical to in Austria, to cease these nations, the few left, which can be nonetheless impartial. And so, there’s a large pall throughout Europe during which it’s very arduous for folks to talk out.
And I have to say that the identical factor is going on to some extent in the US, the place folks like myself at plenty of venues have been attacked each by protesters, however — in a single case, obtained violent. However then again, I feel there’s more room being created for dialogue right here in the US, due to the truth that there are a variety of presidential candidates, from Republicans like Trump and DeSantis to Democrats like Robert Kennedy to Cornel West, who needs to be the Inexperienced Get together consultant, which can be opening up area for a special dialogue, and the truth that, as in Germany, the general public opinion polls are displaying that that is changing into a much less and fewer in style place for the Biden administration. I feel this opens up area for these of us who wish to push our authorities to take the place that we should transfer to the negotiating desk.
JUAN GONZÁLEZ: And, Medea, I’m questioning should you might discuss concerning the refugee state of affairs. Because the begin of the warfare, Poland has absorbed a staggering 5 million refugees from Ukraine with out the institution of any refugee camps. And will you discuss that, in comparison with different warfare zones you’ve visited? And apparently, simply, as an illustration, proper right here in Chicago, within the final six months, 29,000 Ukrainian refugees have been resettled in Chicago. That’s 3 times the variety of asylum seekers from the border who’ve come to Chicago, but all of the Ukrainians have been resettled with out a lot fanfare and far media consideration, whereas we nonetheless have these asylum seekers from the border housed in police precincts. They will’t get work permits. They haven’t any prospects for any sort of a peaceable resettlement right here whereas their instances are being judged. Might you discuss Poland’s superb response to the refugee disaster?
MEDEA BENJAMIN: Effectively, folks say that the Polish folks must be given a Nobel Peace Prize for the way in which that they opened their properties and welcomed the refugees from Ukraine. The way in which the refugees from Ukraine have been handled world wide is an instance of how refugees must be handled from anyplace. However that is completely not the case. As a result of the overwhelming majority of the Ukrainians are white, we will see this as a really racist coverage, the place nations have opened their borders, have welcomed the Ukrainians, whereas they’ve closed their borders and, actually, led to the deaths of so many refugees who have been attempting to come back from war-torn areas of Africa. We see it occurring on the shores of Europe proper now, horrible conditions the place refugees are being stored out, and, as you say, Juan, the refugees which can be coming to the borders of the US, fleeing very violent conditions in Central America, typically created by U.S. insurance policies through the years, and never being allowed into this nation. So, sure, it’s a really totally different state of affairs for the white Ukrainians, however I feel we should always see that as a mannequin and say that each one refugees must be handled like that.
AMY GOODMAN: Lastly, Andreas Zumach in Berlin, who do you see, if there have been these negotiations to happen — Andreas, I don’t know should you can hear me proper now. Ah, I feel we misplaced his audio. So, we’re going to go away it there, however, after all, we’re going to proceed to cowl this. I wish to thank Andreas Zumach, the protection correspondent for the German day by day, Die Tageszeitung, who was chatting with us from Berlin, and Medea Benjamin, co-founder of CodePink, simply again from western Ukraine, chatting with us from Washington, D.C.
Arising, the United Nations is warning Sudan is getting ready to a full-scale civil warfare that might destabilize the complete area, with over half 1,000,000 folks already displaced. We’ll be again in 30 seconds.
