The former UK Labour leader is finally calling out the Tory government, saying that sending weapons to Kiev will not only prevent a peaceful resolution to the conflict, but also do repairable harm to the country of Ukraine.
The question is: will his warning be heeded by anyone in the Labour Party and what’s left of ‘The Left’ in Britain?
The UK’s Telegraph reports…
Jeremy Corbyn has criticised the UK and the West for supplying Ukraine with weapons, saying “pouring arms in” will only “prolong and exaggerate” the war.
The former Labour leader said sending weapons to Kyiv as it tries to defend itself against the Russian invasion will not bring about an end to the conflict.
Mr Corbyn said it was “disappointing” that “hardly any of the world’s leaders use the word peace” when discussing the conflict, claiming too many “use the language of more war and more bellicose war”.
Corbyn: calling our Britain’s failing proxy war in Ukraine.
The independent MP for Islington North also said “much more effort” must be put into securing a peace deal and that if the UN cannot negotiate a ceasefire it should make way for an organisation that can.
The comments, made in an interview with Al Mayadeen, an independent Arab satellite news channel, are likely to prompt a ferocious backlash from both Tory and Labour MPs.
Tobias Ellwood, the chairman of the defence select committee and a former defence minister, told The Telegraph: “He is illustrating yet again why he would have been such an inappropriate prime minister for the nation because he doesn’t understand that the geopolitical consequences of supporting democracy occasionally means using hard power.
Jeremy Corbyn on the repercussions of the #Russia–#Ukraine war on #European countries.@jeremycorbyn @MoussaSrour pic.twitter.com/LkY21g7Q03
— Al Mayadeen English (@MayadeenEnglish) August 1, 2022
“This is deeply irresponsible for a senior politician. I hope his comments are not seen to undermine the wider support for, and the commitment to, supporting Ukraine following this unprovoked invasion by Putin.”
The UK has been one of the leading backers of Volodymyr Zelensky, the Ukrainian president, as his forces try to repel the invasion.
Britain has sent hundreds of millions of pounds worth of military aid to Ukraine in recent months, and Mr Zelensky has praised Boris Johnson for standing by his country.
But Mr Corbyn criticised the decision to send weapons, saying: “Pouring arms in isn’t going to bring about a solution. It is only going to prolong and exaggerate this war.
“We might be in for years and years of war in Ukraine. But then the world woke up and suddenly realised that Russia and Ukraine are the world’s biggest grain exporters and something has to be done, so they came to an agreement – and I hope it holds – to export grain through Odesa and through the Bosphorus to the rest of the world. That is a good move.
“But at the same time putting more and more arms into Ukraine isn’t going to bring about a solution.”
Mr Zelenksy has made it clear that he will not agree to cede any land to Russia to secure a peace deal.
Mr Corbyn said there must be “more, much more effort, put into peace”, adding: “What I find disappointing is that hardly any of the world’s leaders use the word peace. They always use the language of more war and more bellicose war.
“Ukrainians are dying, Ukrainians have gone into exile, thousands and thousands, and Russian soldiers are dying, conscripted young Russian soldiers are dying. This war is disastrous for the people of Ukraine, for the people of Russia and for the safety and security of the whole world. And therefore there has to be more, much more effort, put into peace.”
Mr Corbyn said the UN “ought to be centre stage” in peace efforts, adding: “If the UN cannot negotiate a ceasefire of some sort then bring in somebody else who can.
“The African Union, League of Arab States, there are many forums around the world that have no direct economic interest one way or the other between Russia and Ukraine who might be able to broker a peace. But there has to be peace, otherwise what are we looking at?”
Mr Corbyn also said that the war is having a “huge” impact on Europe in terms of energy supplies, claiming Germany “cannot exist without Russian gas”.
READ MORE UKRAINE NEWS AT: 21st Century Wire Ukraine Files
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