In Japan’s peace haven, G7 leaders talk war

Last week saw three summits with contradictory agendas: war making, defence and peace making. The summit of the Group of Seven major industrialised countries (G7) focused on war and sanctions against Russia and punishments meted out to anyone who disagrees with aggressive US policies. It is ironic that leaders from the US, Canada, France, Britain, Germany, Japan, and Italy plus the European Union met in the Japanese city of Hiroshima. There G7 leaders placed white wreaths on a memorial to the hundreds of thousands of Japanese killed and maimed in 1945 when the US dropped on that city the first ever nuclear bombs used in warfare.

It is ironic that at this gathering, US President Joe Biden agreed that US-built F16 fighter jets could be provided to Ukraine for use against Russia and that the US would train Ukrainian pilots on these warplanes. He had, rightly, hesitated because these are offensive weapons which could be used to bomb Russia, risking a major escalation in the war. Russian President Vladimir Putin has warned that taking the war to the Russian homeland could lead to Moscow’s use of tactical nuclear weapons.

Biden bowed to pressure exerted by allies, Congress, members of his own administration, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who intelligence leaks have revealed, wants to strike Russia. According to the Washington Post, Secretary of State Antony Blinken was “a major force” in pushing Biden to agree to allow the F16s to be sent by European allies to Ukraine. The Post wrote that Blinken also played a similar role when NATO was at an impasse over whether to provide modern tanks to Ukraine. He and Biden’s national security adviser Jake Sullivan appear to be the leading hardliners in the administration.

The G7 event coincided with the regional defence summit of five Central Asian powers (C5) with China. The leaders of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan gathered in the central Chinese city of Xi’an at the invitation of Chinese President Xi Jinping. He seeks to counter US efforts to recruit support in Central Asia. Blinken visited Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan earlier this year.

The meeting was called to discuss threats posed to Central Asian security by the US/NATO war on Ukraine which has debilitated and distracted Russia from its role as the dominant, deterrent power in this region. While urging cooperation in these fields, China also seeks to expand trade and economic ties and counter US efforts to make inroads in an area traditionally dominated by Russia. With a view to ending the war, China has offered to mediate between Russia and Ukraine. Beijing is banking on its success in reconciling Saudi Arabia and Iran, an achievement which has promoted peacemaking in this region.

The Western-dominated global media gave all its attention to the G7 meeting in Helsinki, ignored the Central Asia summit, and took notice of the Arab summit only when Zelensky turned up in Jeddah to plead for Arab support in the Ukraine war. During his address – which was in English — he argued his country is defending itself from colonisers and imperialists and demanded that Russia withdraw its troops.

However, he did not see the parallels recognised by the Arabs between the current plight of Ukraine and the 75-year ordeal of the Palestinian people inflicted by a colonising, imperialist Israel which has been totally supported by the US and other Western powers.

The only other speech at the Arab summit noticed by the media was delivered by Syrian President Bashar Al Assad who said the summit offered an “historic opportunity to rearrange our affairs with the least amount of foreign interference... I hope that it marks the beginning of a new phase of Arab action for solidarity among us, for peace in our region, development and prosperity instead of war and destruction.”

The Blinken-Sullivan duo has criticised the Arab League’s decision to lift Syria’s suspension and welcome Assad’s return to the Arab fold. The two top officials have also promoted Saudi normalisation of relations with Israel despite Riyadh’s repeated denials that the kingdom intends to take such a step. At the 2002 Arab summit in Beirut, Saudi Arabia put forward an Arab peace plan which promised full normalisation with Israel for full Israeli withdrawal from Arab territory occupied in 1967. In response, Israel’s then Prime Minister Ariel Sharon promptly invaded the West Bank and seized areas from which Israel had withdrawn under the 1993 Oslo accords.

To make the kingdom’s stand clear, in his Western ignored summit address, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman stated, “We will not delay in providing assistance to the Palestinian people in recovering their lands, restoring their legitimate rights and establishing an independent state on the 1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital.” He added, “The Palestinian issue was and remains the central issue for Arab countries, and it is at the top of the kingdom’s priorities.”

While Saudi Arabia restated the Arab position over Palestine, the summit also called for Lebanon to resolve its domestic crisis by electing a president before mid-June, an end to the war in Yemen, and a ceasefire and negotiations between Sudan’s warring sides. Riyadh has brokered talks with the Sudanese to achieve the latter objective and, like China, has offered its services to mediate between Russia and Ukraine. The object of the Saudi invitation to Zelensky was to put forward this proposal. Like China, Saudi Arabia sees this escalating war as a conflict which could cross the borders of Ukraine into Russia and the countries of Eastern Europe, threatening the global economy with meltdown.

Blind and deaf but not dumb (silent), Washington continues to make strident demands which offend the Arabs who have opted for promoting regional stability and peace while taking advantage of an emerging multipolar era where China, India and Russia have become alternative actors as US influence has waned. Speaking to Al Jazeera, US regional expert Joshua Landis blamed Washington’s failure to secure its objectives in this region on doing “the wrong thing time and time again.”

He stated, “A big elephant like America can ruin a country like Iraq, or throw chaos into Libya, munch (chew up) Afghanistan and withdraw” without bringing promised benefits. Cconsequently, the result has been “exactly the opposite” of what has been promised. He added, “Eventually, people get tired of this.” Indeed.