23rd March 2023 – (Moscow) In an interview with TASS, Helga Zepp-LaRouche, a German political activist and founder of the US-based Schiller Institute, called on the United States and its Western allies to pay attention to the rapid changes underway in the international arena following Chinese leader Xi Jinping’s visit to Moscow. Zepp-LaRouche urged the West to cooperate with China’s peace proposal, which has gained support from the entire Global South.
Zepp-LaRouche emphasised that China’s peace proposal, which calls for a ceasefire, respect for the legitimate interests of all countries in the field of security, and settlement of the humanitarian crisis in Ukraine, is not only endorsed by Russia but is also supported by many countries in the Global South. She stated that the countries of the Global South are determined to end colonialism for good and do not want to be drawn into a geopolitical conflict between the US and Russia or between the US and China.
According to Zepp-LaRouche, Western establishments are still underestimating the reality that there is a powerful renaissance of the non-aligned spirit occurring right now. She underscored that many countries in the Global South have very beneficial economic ties with China and do not want to lose out on them.
Zepp-LaRouche praised China’s diplomatic success in getting Saudi Arabia and Iran to return to diplomacy and cooperation, saying that Beijing had proven that it can be a surprising peacemaker. She urged the US and the entire West to consider the rapidly changing international environment and to cooperate with it, rather than to lose more and more influence by opposing China’s peace plan.
In February, the Chinese Foreign Ministry published a position paper on a political settlement of the crisis in Ukraine, which has gained international support. The twelve-point document includes calls for a ceasefire, the exchange of prisoners of war between Moscow and Kiev, and the cancellation of unilateral sanctions imposed without a corresponding decision of the UN Security Council.
China has described dialogue and negotiations as the sole way of resolving the crisis in Ukraine and called on all parties to support Moscow and Kiev in “moving toward each other,” urging a resumption of direct dialogue as soon as possible. The world community should create conditions and provide a platform for the resumption of talks, the document emphasised.
Following talks with Xi, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that many provisions of China’s peace plan on Ukraine could be used as a basis for the conflict settlement whenever the West and Kiev were ready for that. However, he pointed out that so far, “no such readiness” could be seen.
Zepp-LaRouche’s call for the West to cooperate with China’s peace plan comes at a crucial time when tensions between the US and China are escalating, and the conflict in Ukraine remains unresolved. As more countries in the Global South support China’s peace plan, the pressure on the U.S. and its Western allies to reconsider their approach to the conflict is mounting.