TURKEY'S STAND OVER RUSSIA-UKRAINE CONFLICT
Recently, Turkey urged Russia to drop its one-sided demands regarding North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and Ukraine. It also requested Russia to take a moderate approach in its demands with the western alliance (US and other western countries). Earlier, the US intelligence reports said the tension on the Russia-Ukraine border represents a major security crisis for the region, with the potential to snowball into a broader conflict.
BACKGROUND OF THE ISSUE
Ukraine and Russia share hundreds of years of cultural, linguistic and familial links. For many in Russia and in the ethnically Russian parts of Ukraine, the shared heritage of the countries is an emotional issue that has been exploited for electoral and military purposes. As part of the Soviet Union, Ukraine was the second-most powerful Soviet republic after Russia, and was crucial strategically, economically and culturally.
Cause of Conflict between the two nations:
- Balance of Power: Ever since Ukraine split from the Soviet Union, both Russia and the West have vied for greater influence in the country in order to keep the balance of power in the region in their favor.
- Buffer Zone for Western Countries: For the US and the European Union, Ukraine is a crucial buffer between Russia and the West. As tensions with Russia rise, the US and the EU are increasingly determined to keep Ukraine away from Russian control.
- Russian Interest in Black Sea: The unique geography of the Black Sea region confers several geopolitical advantages to Russia.
- Firstly, it is an important crossroads and strategic intersection for the entire region. Access to the Black Sea is vital for all littoral and neighboring states, and greatly enhances the projection of power into several adjacent regions. Secondly, the region is an important transit corridor for goods and energy.
PROTEST IN UKRAINE
- Euromaidan Movement: Euromaidan (European Square) was a wave of demonstrations and civil unrest in Ukraine, which began in November 2013 with public protests in Maidan Nezalezhnosti ("Independence Square") in Kyiv, Ukraine. The protests were sparked by the Ukrainian government's decision to suspend the signing of an association agreement with the European Union, instead choosing closer ties to Russia and the Eurasian Economic Union.
- Separatist Movement: The Donbass region (the Donetsk and Luhansk regions) of eastern Ukraine has been facing a pro-Russian separatist movement since 2014. According to the Ukrainian government, the movement is actively supported by the Russian government and Russian paramilitaries make up between 15% to 80% of the separatists fighting against the Ukraine government.
- Invasion of Crimea: Russia seized Crimea from Ukraine in what was the first time a European country annexed territory from another country since World War-2. The annexation of Crimea from Ukraine followed a Russian military intervention in Crimea that took place in the aftermath of the 2014 Ukrainian revolution and was part of wider unrest across southern and eastern Ukraine. The invasion and subsequent annexation of Crimea have given Russia a maritime upperhand in the region.
- Ukrain’s NATO Membership: Ukraine has urged the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) to speed up his country’s membership in the alliance. Russia has declared such a move a “red line”, and worried about the consequences of the US-led military alliances expanding right up to its doorstep. The Black Sea is bordered by Bulgaria, Georgia, Romania, Russia, Turkey and Ukraine. All these countries are NATO countries. Due to this faceoff between NATO countries and Russia, the Balck sea is a region of strategic importance & a potential maritime flashpoint.
WHAT IS MINSK AGREEMENTS?
- Minsk I: Ukraine and the Russian-backed separatists agreed a 12-point ceasefire deal in the capital of Belarus in September 2014..Its provisions included prisoner exchanges, deliveries of humanitarian aid and the withdrawal of heavy weapons. The agreement quickly broke down, with violations by both sides.
- Minsk II: In 2015, an open conflict was averted after the ‘Minsk II’ peace agreement was signed, under the mediation of France and Germany se designed to end the fighting in the rebel regions and hand over the border to Ukraine’s national troops..It was signed by Representatives of Russia, Ukraine, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) and the leaders of two pro-Russian separatist regions.
- OSCE is the world's largest security-oriented intergovernmental organization. Its mandate includes issues such as arms control, promotion of human rights, freedom of the press, and fair elections.
- Current Situation: Russia is seeking assurances from the US that Ukraine will not be inducted into NATO. However, the US is not prepared to give any such assurance. This has left the countries in a stand-off, with tens of thousands of Russian troops ready to invade Ukraine.
- Russia is keeping the tensions high at the Ukraine border in order to get sanctions relief and other concessions from the West. Any kind of military action by the US or European Union (EU) against Russia would precipitate a major crisis for the whole world, and has so far not been mooted by any of the parties involved. However, the US has offered to re-open talks between the NATO alliance and Russia to ease Russia’s concerns. A meeting of the NATO-Russia Council has been proposed for January 2022, though Ukraine has not publicly agreed.
TURKEY & INDIA'S STAND OVER THE ISSUE
Turkey’s Stand: Turkey has irritated Russia by supplying combat drones to Ukraine that Russia fears could be used by Ukraine in its conflict with separatists in two eastern regions. Turkey has also upset the US and NATO by acquiring an advanced missile defense system from Russia that resulted in sanctions from the United States. It has urged Russia and the Western defense alliance to remove their differences in direct negotiations proposed by NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg.
India’s Stand: India did not join the Western powers’ condemnation of Russia’s intervention in Crimea and kept a low profile on the issue. In November 2020, India voted against a Ukraine-sponsored resolution in the United Nations (UN) that condemned alleged human rights violations in Crimea thereby backing old ally Russia on the issue.
NORTH ATLANTIC TREATY ORGANIZATION (NATO)
It is a military alliance established by the North Atlantic Treaty (also called the Washington Treaty) of April, 1949, by the United States, Canada, and several Western European nations to provide collective security against the Soviet Union. A key provision of the treaty, the so-called Article 5, states that if one member of the alliance is attacked in Europe or North America, it is to be considered an attack on all members. That effectively put Western Europe under the "nuclear umbrella" of the US. NATO has only once invoked Article 5, in September, 2001 following the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center in the US..As of 2019, there are 29 member states, with Montenegro becoming the latest member to join the alliance in 2017.
Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe
- It is the world's largest security-oriented intergovernmental organization. Its mandate includes issues such as arms control, promotion of human rights, freedom of the press, and fair elections. Its headquarters are in Vienna. It was established in 1972, and its first conference (1973–75) was attended by all 33 countries of Europe (with the exception of Albania) and by the United States and Canada. All 57 participating States enjoy equal status, and decisions are taken by consensus on a politically, but not legally binding basis. India is not a participating state.
- The Open Skies Consultative Commission regularly meets at the OSCE in Vienna. It is the implementing body of the Open Skies Treaty, which in 2002 established a regime of unarmed aerial observation flights over the territory of its 33 signatories.
GEOGRAPHICAL LOCATION OF BLACK SEA
The Black Sea is located between Eastern Europe and Western Asia. It is surrounded by the Pontic, Caucasus, and Crimean Mountains in the south, east and north respectively. The Black Sea is also connected to the Sea of Azov by the Strait of Kerch. The Turkish straits system - the Dardanelles, Bosporus and Marmara Sea - forms a transitional zone between the Mediterranean and the Black Sea.
Bordering countries of Black Sea are: Russia, Ukraine, Georgia, Turkey, Bulgaria and Romania. There is a significant absence of oxygen in the water (anoxic waters).
CONCLUSION
A practical solution for the situation is to revive the Minsk peace process. Therefore the West (US and Other western Countries) should push both sides to resume talks and live up to their commitments as per the Minsk agreement to restore relative peace on the border. The US should also seek agreement from all parties to engage more directly in an OSCE-mediated process to stem the ongoing damage to European security, the deepening human and economic costs, and the threat to Ukraine's sovereignty.
TEST YOURSELF
Q.1 Which of the following Nations is recently urging for the membership of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) amidst it's conflict with Russia?
- Turkey
- United Arab Emirates
- Ukraine: ANSWER
- None of the above
Q.2 Which of the following areas is considered the major reason for conflict between Ukraine & Russia?
- Crimean Peninsula: ANSWER
- Transylvania
- Kamchatka Peninsula
- All of the following
Q.3 There are many bordering countries of Black Sea located between Eastern Europe and Western Asia. Which of the following is not one of them?
- Russia
- Georgia
- Bulgaria
- Czechoslovakia: ANSWER
Q.4 In which of the following multilateral forums, both India & Russia are the common member or the dialogue partners?
- Shanghai Cooperation Organization
- BRICS Organization
- IORA
- All of the above: ANSWER
Q.5 The International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC) is a multi-modal transportation established in 2000 in St. Petersburg by which of the following countries for the purpose of promoting transportation cooperation?
- India, Russia & Kazakhstan
- Iran, India & Russia: ANSWER
- Iran, Kazakhstan, Russia
- Ukraine, India, Russia
