The war in Ukraine is an open wound in Europe. Many thousands of lives were lost, both Russian and Ukrainian, great destruction occurred, Europe and the world were divided again, the cost of sanctions was greater for Europe than for Russia itself.
Yes, the war began with Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine, but at some point one has to weigh whether the most important thing is to punish Russia or to stop the destruction and loss of life. Especially when this war did not begin in February 2022, but much earlier and never concerned only Russia and Ukraine, but also the overall geopolitical competition of the “New Cold War”.
Several opportunities for peace were missed in these three years. Largely because the logic prevailed that Russia had to be “defeated” at all costs, even when it seemed that this was not possible.
It is therefore important that a path to peace is now opening up. Even if the US takes the initiative with its new leadership. It is an opportunity that should not be missed. The logic of the constant existence of points of tension and open fronts in order to form a relationship is a dangerous logic because it can lead to global conflagration. Nor can it be justified by the West declaring that it represents democracy and freedoms. Because on the battlefields there is neither freedom nor justice. Nor would an escalation that would bring nuclear annihilation closer strengthen democracy worldwide (because that would mean an escalation with the direct participation of Western powers).
Not to mention that sometimes it is not only a continuation of politics by other means, but also of the economy, because some profit from military operations and speculate on tension.
Obviously, peace cannot simply mean “freezing” the current situation. It needs to have perspective, to build on a new security architecture, to provide guarantees to Ukraine and other countries that feel threatened, to provide for compliance mechanisms, to have proposals for reconstruction, to see the punishment of war crimes, etc. Above all, it needs to be able to last and lead to a different approach to existing problems. But it must be made clear that now is the time for peace negotiations and not plans for new escalation.
Europe must take the lead in this effort. It must once again become the pole of peace and justice. It must now take the lead in the peace process effort, in real terms, and see how there can be a return to a world order that is at least to some extent based on the rules of law and not on cynicism and power. It is not easy given the existing crisis of leadership and a crisis of orientation that is plaguing the “Old Continent”, but that does not mean that it is any less necessary.
