Africa -China Review Africa -China Cooperation and Transformation
Published: February 22,2023
By staff Writer
Biden secretly visits Kyiv: Photo Courtesy: The New York Times
Almost one year since the war between Russia and Ukraine broke out, US president Joe Biden paid a secret visit to Kyiv to show solidarity and support for Ukraine. On his tweeter account with 29.6million followers, Biden said, “One year later, Kyiv stands, Ukraine stands. Democracy stands. America and the world– stand with Ukraine.”
Biden who reportedly spent five hours in Kyiv promised to provide more $500 million in military aid in coming days, mentioning artillery ammunition, Javelin missiles and Howitzers. In November 2022, US aid to Ukraine totaled $68 billion and the white house had asked Congress to approve an additional $37.7 billion.
Political analysts believe that the US had not helped to find solutions to the war between Russia and Ukraine but instead took sides and openly supported Ukraine by supplying arms and ammunitions. “It appears that this is a war between US and Russia using Ukraine as a proxy,” a military expert said. The US and their NATO allies have thrown their weight behind Ukraine against Russia rather than calling for efforts to end the war. The US and its allies have already committed nearly 700 tanks and thousands of armored vehicles and 1,000 artillery systems, among other aid to Ukraine, Biden said during his secret trip to Kyiv.
Many Americans are calling on the government to stop fueling the Russia-Ukraine conflict and scale down military spending. Military experts say that the US over the years sponsors wars across the world to benefit its military-Industrial complex. It is believed that this mighty interest group has repeatedly manipulated the country’s political decision-making and seen wars as a shortcut to profits, prompting the US government to cause one catastrophe after another in the world. Peter Kuznick, a history professor at the American University in the US, says that War is big business for the US.
To create inelastic demand for arms trade, the U.S. military-industrial complex has been bent on pushing U.S. foreign policy toward wars and conflicts. “The US, driven by political-corporate greed, robbed Afghanistan of stability and tranquility for two decades,” said an article published on the website of Pakistan Observer.
On the other hand, China made it clear by calling for efforts for a peaceful settlement of the Ukraine crisis. Speaking during the United Nations Security Council foreign ministers meeting on Ukraine at the UN headquarters in New York, U.S., September 22, 2022, Chinese Foreign Minister at the time Wang Yi stressed that the crisis can only be resolved through promoting dialogue and negotiations.
Wang also called for joint efforts to ease tensions, asked all parties concerned to exercise restraint and refrain from words and deeds that aggravate confrontation, requesting the international community to play a constructive role in helping cool the situation.
China maintains that the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all countries should be safeguarded, the purposes and principles of the UN Charter upheld, and the legitimate security concerns of all parties taken seriously.
