Ukraine crisis in focus
May 6th, 2014Political commentators fear the return of 20th century power struggles and the Cold War, as Ukraine drifts towards the abyss.
In Magyar Nemzet, Gábor Stier fears that all hell is about to break loose in Ukraine. Stier accuses Western powers of applying double standards, for remaining silent as the Ukrainian government sends in troops to support Ukrainian radical nationalists against ethnic Russian citizens, while at the time of the Maidan protests they condemned any use of state violence. While the US and to a lesser extent the EU use the Ukraine crisis “to discredit Moscow at any price”, scenes from eastern Ukraine remind one more and more of “the most horrible moments of the bloody 20th century”, Stier contends.
The 20th century and the Cold War are returning to haunt us, Edit Inotai writes in Népszabadság. Both the US and Russia are trying to increase their zones of influence in Ukraine, she believes. The current situation reminds her of the Cold War when the great powers pulled the strings from behind the scenes, and waged proxy wars in third countries without open involvement in armed conflicts. In an aside, Inotai remarks that although the EU has not fulfilled the expectations of the new member states, it at least provides them with geopolitical stability and the prospect of peace.
Ukraine has become the prey of both the West and Russia, Gábor Mező comments in Magyar Hírlap. Mező speculates that at the end of the day, both sides will benefit from increasing their spheres of geopolitical and economic influence by tearing Ukraine apart.