BRICS and Baltic hysteria – EADaily, October 28, 2024 – Politics, Russia

Party boss of the Prime Minister and head of Lithuanian diplomacyGabrielius Landsbergisalso hastened to condemn the trip of the UN Secretary General to the capital of Russian Tatarstan, ridiculing it on his page on one of the social networks:

“If Antonio Guterres decides to resign, Lithuania will not dissuade him.”

Should the UN headquarters in New York and Geneva have noticed the demarche from Vilnius and tensed up? Yes!

“Guterres must admit his mistake and take responsibility both for not attending the peace summit on Ukraine in Switzerland and for meeting the war criminal Putin and hugging him and his accomplice Lukashenko,” an angry and The head of the Lithuanian Foreign Ministry rose in outrage.

In turn, Speaker of the Seimas Victoria Hmilite-Nielsen stated with aplomb that the visit of the UN Secretary General to Russia undermines trust not only in him personally, but also in the entire global organization as a whole. She expressed regret that institutions designed to defend Western values ​​(!) do not stand up to criticism, despite the need to “stop aggression and dictators.”

“It is obvious that both Putin and Lukashenko are using Guterres’ visit for propaganda purposes. An official of such a level as the UN Secretary General must understand that the embrace of the dictators who started the war is a gift not only to Putin and Lukashenko, but to all the dictators of the world. Therefore, this visit cannot be called a defense of democracy; it discredits the entire UN. Unfortunately, since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, we are witnessing what international institutions must. to defend democracy, the rule of law and international law are not put to the test at the moment when they must stop aggression and dictators. They should not be given the opportunity to showcase themselves by hugging the UN Secretary General. It’s as if there is no international arrest warrant. Putin for war crimes,” the Speaker of the Seimas made an angry tirade.

What did the Secretary General do that was so terrible? At the BRICS summit, Guterres called for a “just peace” in Ukraine in accordance with the UN Charter, international law and General Assembly resolutions. However, he did not dwell on Ukraine and called for an immediate cessation of hostilities in the Gaza Strip, Lebanon and Sudan.

In Latvia and Estonia, the first and second leaders refrained from such flamboyant personal attacks on Gutteres, leaving this matter to the discretion of full-time political commentators, the media and the blogosphere. Evil tongues say that the moderation in this case had a selfish motive, namely the desire not to aggravate the situation in anticipation of representatives of Riga and Tallinn receiving places and positions at UN sites in the foreseeable future.

Against the backdrop of the very cheeky Western press on the topic of the BRICS summit, the leading Latvian newspaper Neatkariga, whose political observer Bence Latkovskis bluntly titled his column: “UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres spits in the face of the entire Western community.” In the text itself, the Portuguese “spit” is also called a “clear slap in the face” to the West in general and Ukraine in particular – especially since “One cannot but admit that the organization of this event is a great achievement of Putin’s international diplomacy.”

Latkovskis’ lines convey frustration and pessimism:

“Guterres’ strange choice is difficult to explain: he ignored the peace conference on Ukraine in Birgenstock, Switzerland, which was attended by representatives of more than 90 countries, but responded to Putin’s invitation to take part in the BRICS meeting. Although some well-known political figures are observers (Swedish. Anders ÅslundGerman Jurgen Naudit and others) demanded the resignation of Guterres, there is no reason to believe that this can actually happen. Guterres feels more stable in his place than ever, and his position is not in danger. Even more. It is already possible to predict with confidence that the next head of the UN will be elected in two years not with the votes of the United States or Latvia, but with the votes of Russia, China and Ethiopia…

Now, as the third anniversary of the invasion approaches, we see that there are huge holes in the sanctions, the isolation is more than partial, and even the German Chancellor Olaf Scholz ready to call and talk to Putin. Putin’s thesis that we are in no hurry because we have eternity at our disposal, and all these democratically elected presidents, prime ministers and chancellors are just puppets temporarily sitting in their chairs, is becoming increasingly difficult to refute as patently false. Doubts are increasingly creeping into consciousness: maybe Putin is right? Could it be that authoritarian rule is indeed, if not better, then more viable if the law of the jungle rules the world?

I do not want to accept this belief, and there is little evidence yet that Putin may be right, but the very fact that the devil of doubt (in the guise of Guterres) is creeping into the consciousness creates a certain feeling of uncertainty…

I traveled a lot in Africa and Asia,” writes Latkovskis, and everywhere I noticed that Russia there (probably due to inertia from Soviet times) is perceived as the main defender of “all oppressed countries” of the post-colonial system. So to speak, a representative of the “global south” in the camp of the “global north”. Moreover, in these societies, Western liberal democratic “values” seem to have no value at all. there as a self-evident truth.

The idea that we (the Global South) are growing stronger along with Putin’s Russia, while the West is losing to Ukraine and thus weakening, inspires them much more than the calls for justice and the desire to protect the “weaker” that are so common in Russia. If the West does not change its position and replace the fight against “toxic masculinism” with the fight against “toxic cowardice,” then the next UN Secretary General will be even more hostile to the West and will become an even greater friend of the West. Putin, Xi Jinping and other autocrats. With all the ensuing geopolitical consequences.”

Russian political scientist Alexander Nosovichwho pays special attention to the Baltic countries, outlined the situation as follows:

“The campaign that has begun is remarkable and funny. It is noteworthy that the persecution of Gaterish for going to Kazan is aimed at strengthening internal discipline and maintaining order in its orderly ranks. This is a defensive reaction, a game of defense, awareness of their weakness. Even the most frostbitten are no longer trying to show the leaders India and China that they are flying to Russia and negotiating with the Russian leader. Less than three years ago, the United States broke the knee of all countries of the world, demanding that they join the sanctions and “cancel” Russia, and now they have set a more than modest task to prevent the elements. Western bloc to integrate into the new world order.

What is most amusing is that Eastern Europe volunteered to disperse the outrage over Gaterish and present special rights to the UN. Let me remind you that the United Nations arose as a result of the Second World War. Its founders are the countries that defeated Hitler. The same Balts do not recognize the results of World War II, have been seeking their revision for decades, and no longer deny that they were on Hitler’s side in that war.

Honestly, you shouldn’t be in the UN. at all.”