Vladimir Putin is sending his ‘population into the forest’ with ‘myths’ to justify the war in Ukraine. Minister Wopke Hoekstra (Foreign Affairs) said this after the Russian president’s speech this morning.
Putin, in honor of the commemoration of the Second World War, once again blamed Ukraine for the invasion. In well-known rhetoric, he said that fascism and Nazism would be in power in Ukraine with support from the West. And that therefore Russia had no choice but to ‘liberate’ the population.
Hoekstra: ,,The West would have forced him to invade, he said this morning. It is an utterly implausible attempt to fabricate a pretext, and falsify history.”
In his own speech, on Europe Day, the minister spoke again of an unjustified invasion. “The reality is that Russia is waging a completely unjustified war against an innocent country.”
Hoekstra sees the war as an example of a clash between ‘democracy and autocracy’. “Let’s face it, it’s become a slow-motion wake-up.”
The minister mentions the ‘invasion into Georgia’ and the ‘annexation of Crimea’ as ‘signals’ in the ‘past years’. The gradual reduction of the number of democracies in the world. The increasingly relativistic language of authoritarian leaders about individual freedoms. Year after year, the reports on how the media has come under further pressure in all kinds of places. China, which is showing itself increasingly assertive towards the countries in the Indo-Pacific, but also towards the United States and Europe. For too long we have wanted to believe that countries like Russia are simply in a transition phase.”
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You should not think that the current sanction packages would not have been possible due to a blockade of a single Member State
According to Hoekstra, Europe must defend itself by increasing ‘striking power’. Investing in Defense is one aspect, but he also mentions political agreement, for example when it comes to human rights and values. Defense alone will not protect Europe. Only a geopolitical Europe can keep Russia in check. And only a geopolitical Europe can cope with an economic superpower like China.”
For example, the Netherlands wants to get rid of the veto right that EU member states have, for example when it comes to human rights declarations. One Member State can still veto a proposal in that regard. “If we want to give the EU teeth, we also need to be able to take decisions faster and more proactively. Too often we stumble behind developments because it takes time to make a unanimous decision. Or because it simply doesn’t work. That is why Europe must get rid of the veto right on sanctions and human rights declarations. Because you should not think that the current sanction packages would not have been possible due to a blockade of a single Member State.”
Watch our videos about the war in Ukraine in the playlist below:
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