Jeremy Corbyn has criticized the UK’s decision to send military aid to Ukraine, accusing the West of “prolonging and exaggerating” Russia’s war.
The former Labor leader, who sadly refused to blame Russia for the poisoning of Salisbury in 2018, said leaders should instead force a peace deal between the pair – turning to the African Union and the League Arab, including Syria, for mediation.
He also lamented that “Ukrainians are dying…and Russian soldiers are dying” in an interview with a pro-Assad TV channel, while condemning NATO expansion for causing “greater tension and greater stress.
Jeremy Corbyn tells a pro-Assad TV channel in the Middle East that Western weapons sent to help Ukraine defend against Russia are ‘prolonging’ the war
Corbyn said leaders should focus on the strength of a peace deal between Kyiv and Moscow, despite polls showing a majority of Ukrainians don’t want it (Ukrainian troops with a US howitzer)
A recent poll showed that 61% of Ukrainians are against ending the war until all Russian-occupied territory, including Crimea, is back under their control.
There is also a broad consensus among pundits and analysts that striking a deal now would favor Moscow, allowing Putin to “freeze” the war while rearming and strengthening before relaunching it at a time of his choosing – as he did it in 2014.
But speaking to Al Mayadeen, a Lebanon-based pro-Assad TV channel – which is controlled by the Iran-backed Hezbollah proxy group – Corbyn argued otherwise.
He said: “What I find disappointing is that hardly any of the world leaders use the word ‘peace’, they always use the language of more war and more war.
“Ukrainians are dying and Ukrainians have gone into exile, thousands and thousands of them. And Russian soldiers are dying, young conscripted Russian soldiers are dying… Therefore, more, much more has to be done for peace.
Corbyn said he “didn’t agree” with the Russian invasion, but then repeated a Kremlin talking point by adding that arming Ukraine will “prolong and exaggerate” the war.
Meanwhile, he praised UN chief Antonio Guterres for traveling to Moscow to meet Putin, insisting the world body should be at the forefront of peace talks.
If the UN cannot help, Corbyn suggested, then the African Union or the Arab League – which includes Syria – should mediate because they “have no direct economic interest one way or the other. “.
In fact, Russia has arms trade agreements with dozens of African countries from which it also imports natural resources.
Moscow also has troops and paramilitaries stationed across the Middle East.
Corbyn praised UN chief Antonio Guterres for going to Russia to talk to Putin, and said if he can’t secure peace, the African Union or the Arab League should be brought in. do it.
A Ukrainian boy rides his scooter past a blown up building in the Sumy region, which was destroyed by Russian forces at the start of the war
Vladimir Putin with Deputy President of the Security Council Dmitry Medvedev, who recently said that Russia would only accept peace on our terms
Ending the war would also allow Russian gas to start flowing in Europe again, Corbyn added, suggesting that Germany “cannot survive” without it.
Tobias Ellwood, chairman of the defense select committee and former defense minister, told the Telegraph: ‘[Corbyn] illustrates once again why he would have been such an inappropriate prime minister for the nation.
“He fails to understand that the geopolitical consequences of supporting democracy sometimes mean using hard power.
“This is deeply irresponsible for a high-ranking politician. I hope his comments will not be seen as undermining the broader support and commitment to support Ukraine in the wake of this unprovoked invasion by Putin.
Corbyn currently sits in parliament as an independent MP after the whip was withdrawn by Labor because he said anti-Semitism within the party had been exaggerated for political reasons.
He was also expelled from the party, although he was reinstated by the members.
Al Mayadeen was created in 2012 by journalists and executives from Al-Jazeera and Al Arabiya, some of whom were upset by their criticism of Syrian leaders.
Ukrainian artillery crews are pictured near the frontline in Kharkiv, where they used Western-supplied guns to bombard Russian positions
His news chief at the time was married to a public relations adviser to dictator Assad – also a close Russian ally – and he has been accused of garnering support from his regime.
The station has also been accused of obtaining support from Iran, although it has denied all these accusations. Previous guests have included the likes of George Galloway.
Britain has been one of the largest providers of military aid to Ukraine, having stepped up the supply of anti-tank launchers even before Putin ordered its invasion.
Kyiv said the weapons proved invaluable in destroying convoys of tanks and trucks heading for the capital at the start of the war.
Britain also provided valuable anti-aircraft defenses to protect Ukrainian towns from Russian jets and cruise missiles, anti-ship rockets to guard the coast and long-range artillery rockets to blast dumps. ammunition and command posts.
Russia is currently engaged for five months in what was supposed to be a multi-day war in Ukraine, with its main offensive largely blocked.
Kyiv’s men are now trying to undo some of the territorial gains Putin’s men have made since late February and are targeting the southern city of Kherson.
President Zelensky acknowledged the ultimate need for a peace agreement, but said it would be up to the Ukrainian people to choose when and under what conditions the war would end.
“We have no right to do this…this land belongs to the Ukrainian people,” he said in a recent interview.
Dmitry Medvedev, the former Russian president, said recently that peace would be “on our terms” – without specifying exactly what that means.
Before the war, Moscow had demanded that Ukraine agree never to join NATO, cede territory in its eastern Donbass and that the alliance withdraw all forces from the former Soviet states – conditions categorically excluded by the allies and the United States.
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