Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1532664
6 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 27 MARCH 2022 OPINION 2 maltatoday EXECUTIVE EDITOR KURT SANSONE ksansone@mediatoday.com.mt Letters to the Editor, MaltaToday, Vjal ir-Rihan, San Gwann SGN 9016 E-mail: dailynews@mediatoday.com.mt Letters must be concise, no pen names accepted, include full name and address maltatoday | SUNDAY • 23 FEBRUARY 2025 In Trump's dystopian world, Europe must not abandon Ukraine Editorial DONALD Trump has clearly shown that Amer- ica on his watch will be abandoning Ukraine. From falsely branding Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy a dictator to incredibly blaming Ukraine for the war, the US president has simply surrendered to Russian rhetoric. Trump's strategy is not one of peace but ap- peasement in which the bully is glorified and the victim is asked to lump it with not even as much as having a voice at the table. For Ukraine this is an existential war. Thou- sands have died, many more have been dis- placed and the destruction of public and private infrastructure is widespread. Nobody has been spared in the Russian onslaught; from markets to theatres to hospitals and residential apart- ment blocks, bombs and drones have rained down on Ukrainian cities, killing innocent peo- ple and children. For three years a country has lived in constant fear, not knowing where the next wave of missiles will strike. And yet, in Trump's dystopian world Ukraine is to blame for bringing this onto itself and is expected to accept all terms of a 'negotiated' settlement from which they are excluded. To top it all, in typical feudal mentality, Trump has also asked Ukraine to pay for US assistance it has received by handing over 50% of rare earths mined in the country. This warped logic is no different from that of someone who blames rape victims for the dis- gusting behaviour of their aggressors. It is this dangerous thinking that Trump's fanboys in Europe, including some in Malta, are support- ing when they gloat about the American presi- dent's 'peace initiative'. The whole notion sounds pretty much like what British prime minister Neville Chamber- lain tried to do in 1938 when he reached a set- tlement with Adolf Hitler, hailed as an agree- ment that would secure "peace for our time". Chamberlain's appeasement strategy allowed Hitler to take possession of the German-speak- ing areas, known as the Sudetenland, in Czech- oslovakia without the latter even having a say in the matter. In exchange, Hitler promised there will be no more territorial expansion in Europe for the Third Reich. We all know what happened afterwards. This is one of the hard lessons of history that cannot be ignored when dealing with auto- crats like Vladimir Putin, who have repeatedly exhibited expansionist ideals. Unfortunately, Putin now has a friend in Washington, who is willing to give him what he wants. Russia's invasion of Ukraine three years ago was not the first act of aggression. Before that Russia had invaded Georgia in 2008 to take control of the separatist regions of South Osse- tia and Abkhazia on the pretext that it needed to protect ethnic Russians. Russia suffered no international consequences at the time for its belligerence and six years lat- er, in 2014, Russia annexed Crimea in Ukraine. At the same time, Russian-backed separatists waged war in Ukraine's Donbas region. Again, the consequences Russia faced were ineffectual. In each of these wars, Russia used military might to secure territorial expansion with no serious attempt to achieve diplomatic solutions to very complex legacy issues in territories oc- cupied primarily by ethnic Russians. Where does Russian expansionism stop? Will Moldova's breakaway Transnistria region be next? Will Russia set its eyes on the Baltic states of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania? The fear in these countries is palpable and the distrust of Russia has deep historic roots. It cannot be dismissed lightly when they clamour for security guarantees and increased defence spending. Where does all this leave Europe? Unfor- tunately, the EU and Britain find themselves caught between a rock and a hard place. At a time when the major power players – Germany and France – are distracted by domestic polit- ical problems, the EU lacks the necessary co- hesion to act as one strong voice. Nonetheless, the insistence last week by European leaders that Ukraine and Europe must be part of any negotiations amid a renewed commitment to Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity was the right thing to do. Trump is embracing Putin and abandoning Ukraine. It would be wrong and dangerous if others in Europe did the same. Quote of the Week "[US President Donald] Trump lives in this disinformation space." Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy responding to Donald Trump's claim that Kyiv 'started' the war with Russia. MaltaToday 10 years ago 22 February 2015 Desperate political parties gave up Ordnance Street to get hawkers' votes AN email published by the Labour Party yesterday served as a crude reminder of a last-minute electoral promise made by the former lands minister Jason Azzopar- di, pledging the relocation of the monti hawkers to Ordnance Street by December 1, 2013. The publication of the email appeared to put paid to Opposition leader Simon Busut- til's accusation that Prime Minister Joseph Muscat had 'sold his soul for votes' over the hawkers' relocation on Ordnance Street and beneath the new parliament designed by Renzo Piano. The email, dated March 9, 2013 – voting day – copied to then PN secretary-general Paul Borg Olivier at 4:13pm, was published after Busuttil said he would move out Monti hawkers from Ordnance Street. Azzopardi's email, whose content the former minister had already confirmed in an earlier news report back in March 2013, confirms that the Nationalist administra- tion was supporting the monti relocation to Ordnance Street. "I am authorized to inform you that a Na- tionalist government will commit itself to a relocation of the monti from Merchants' Street to Ordnance Street by no later than 1 December 2013," Azzopardi wrote. In the email he clarifies that the re- location will apply to the daily flea market and that the area will not spill over into Republic Street – a factor that alone differs from Labour's original intention to have the hawkers cross over Republic Street. The email published by the Labour Party blanks out the name of the recipients of the email.