Most countries follow China’s Ukraine stance
- Unlike the US, some of its allies and the European Union, most of the world, like China, have good relations with both Ukraine and Russia, and hate to take sides
The world has condemned Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, we are told. That’s true if by “world”, we mean Europe and North America; perhaps not even the latter. China’s call for a negotiated settlement doesn’t make it the odd man out; it’s the position of most countries.
While Mexico has criticised Russia, it has refused to join the Western allies to impose any economic sanctions. President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador has even criticised Western censorship of Russian state-sponsored media.
“We are not going to take any sort of economic reprisal,” he said, “because we want to have good relations with all the governments in the world.”
Latin America is divided. Chile, Argentina, Colombia and Ecuador have condemned the invasion, but Venezuela, Nicaragua and Cuba have not. Brazil’s position is similar to that of Mexico. Israel, the United States’ close ally, is the same.
On the day of the invasion, The New York Times reported, “Israel’s prime minister, Naftali Bennett, did not mention Russia once. Mr Bennett said he prayed for peace, called for dialogue and promised support for Ukrainian citizens. But he did not hint at Moscow’s involvement, much less condemn it – and it was left, as pre-planned, to Foreign Minister Yair Lapid to criticise Moscow in a separate statement that day.”
Israel has refused to sell Ukraine its Iron Dome anti-missile system to avoid antagonising Moscow.
South Africa, the continent’s largest economy, initially issued a strong endorsement of Ukraine’s sovereignty but has now walked back on it. President Cyril Ramaphosa was reportedly unhappy with the statement, made by International Relations and Cooperation Minister Naledi Pandor, because he considered it against the country’s stated policy. His defence minister, Thandi Modise, reportedly joined the Russian ambassador in the envoy’s Pretoria residence to celebrate Russia’s Defender of the Fatherland Day hours after the invasion started.
Arab states friendly with the US – Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates – have stayed above the fray; likewise, India and Pakistan. Exceptionally, Turkey has backed Ukraine against Russia.
Meanwhile, with the exception of Singapore, all the member states of Asean have declined to condemn the invasion. Instead, they follow China’s lead and call for peace through negotiations.
Unlike the US, some of its allies and the European Union, most of the world, like China, have good relations with both Ukraine and Russia, and hate to take sides.