image source, EPA
The Guardian newspaper published an exclusive interview it conducted with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, in which he warns against Donald Trump winning the US presidential elections and abandoning military support for Ukraine.
Trump pledged last year that if he defeated Joe Biden, he would cut off military support for Ukraine and end the war within 24 hours.
Those close to Trump also hinted at a plan he proposes to give the eastern regions of Ukraine to Russia, as well as the Crimean Peninsula, to end the armed conflict.
But President Zelensky stressed that his country will not accept such a plan, nor is it subject to Russian pressure that is trying to force it to abandon the idea of integrating into Europe and joining NATO in the future.
The Ukrainian president admitted that Trump’s return to the White House may entail cutting off military and financial aid to his country, and that Ukraine cannot without weapons resist the Russian army with its huge capabilities.
He said that this is unlikely to happen, but if it does happen, its impact will be dangerous on the standing of the United States at the international level, and on Trump’s reputation personally, as he will be described as a failed president who has diminished the standing of the United States.
Zelensky expects Russian President Vladimir Putin to break any agreement with Trump. The truce he agrees to will be a trap set by Putin, after which he will continue to humiliate Trump and make him appear weak before the eyes of the world. This insults American institutions.
The Ukrainian president revealed that former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson tried to woo Trump to gain his support for Ukraine. The Ukrainian government also sought to appease Trump’s supporters in Congress, in order to abandon their objection to military aid to Kiev.
In 2019, Trump asked Zelensky to investigate the activities of Hunter Biden, the son of his rival, Joe Biden. It is believed, according to leaks, that he threatened to suspend US aid to Ukraine if the investigation did not reveal violations against Hunter. The scandal led to Trump’s impeachment in Congress.
Modi’s victory should not come at the expense of democracy
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The Times newspaper published an editorial in which it discussed the likely victory of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the legislative elections for a third term.
The newspaper wrote that Modi’s party’s election victory should not come at the expense of the basic principles of democracy and fairness.
Remember, the final result will be disappointing for Modi if his Bharatiya Janata Party wins less than the 303 seats it obtained in the previous period. It indicates that the man sometimes bestowed upon himself the descriptions of greatness and sanctity, as he claimed that his birth was divine.
He said in his speeches: “I am sure that God sent me with a specific mission. If I work to accomplish this mission, He will help me in it. This mission is Hindutva, which is the establishment of Hindu national superiority.”
The Times added in its editorial that Modi’s election campaign showed hideous hostility towards non-Hindus in the country. Modi described Indian Muslims as “infiltrating agents” and warned that their birth rate was a threat to Hindu control. He sought to silence and imprison dissident Muslim clerics.
They were subjected to administrative obstacles and charges of corruption, tax evasion, and terrorism. This is the method used by all authoritarian rulers in dealing with the opposition, according to the newspaper.
The newspaper believes that Modi’s party’s victory in the parliamentary majority in India carries with it many risks. It is a threat to the rights of minorities. It also deepens social disparities in the country. The government made party members millionaires, while ordinary Indians remained poor.
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South Africa is on the brink
The Financial Times published an editorial in which it discussed the legislative elections in South Africa, and the decline of the African National Congress Party’s share in Parliament to less than 50 percent.
The Financial Times describes it as a painful, historic blow to the party that led the country to freedom from the apartheid system. He is no longer able to form a government alone, but rather needs to ally with other parties to obtain a majority.
These results turned the country’s political scene upside down. The African National Congress’ share of the vote fell to less than 50 percent, for the first time since 1994, to 40 percent. The party lost 17 percent of its balance in 2019.
15 percent of these votes went to the party of former President Zuma, which was able to attract voters from outside his usual circle. The remaining percentage voted for Malema’s party. The two parties emerged from the African National Congress.
The future of the government in South Africa now depends on the Congress Party’s choices in searching for political alliances that will give it a majority in Parliament.
The newspaper believes that the party may blame President Cyril Ramaphosa, hold him responsible for the failure, and push him to step down. This will make way for an alliance with Zuma’s party.
This step will turn Nelson Mandela’s party, according to the Financial Times, into a traditional liberation movement seeking to remain in power at the expense of the state. Signs of this appeared during President Zuma’s term from 2009 to 2018, during which corruption expanded and development collapsed.
There are two other ways to avoid disaster for the country, according to the newspaper. The first is for Ramaphosa to remain president, and the African National Congress to form a minority government, with the help of the DA Party, which holds the presidency of Parliament.
The second way is for the multiple parties to agree on a national unity government, which will create a government with a kind of balance that allows the country to be led in the coming period.