3 ms·

If Russia were given assured perpetual access to Sevastopol base. They already had that, but they invaded anyway: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kharkiv_Pact h

If Russia were given assured perpetual access to Sevastopol base. They already had that, but they invaded anyway: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kharkiv_Pact https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kharkiv_Pact The threat that no former Soviet republic would be welcomed into NATO, That ship had long since sailed. Former Soviet republics Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia have been NATO members since 2004. Ukraine's NATO membership application had been effectively the table since 2008 (precisely as a de-escalatory gesture in his favor) in any case. Putin would need to ... Putin didn't "need to" do anything, at least nothing physically aggressive against its neighbors. He knew very well that NATO posed no substantial threat to Russia. A symbolic nuisance, at most. But no actual, physical threat to Russia's security. He invaded because he chose to. He gambled that it would be a cakewalk, and win him a huge boast in prestige at minimal cost. This was all a gigantic delusion of course, and that's how we got here. It's really quite simple.

rbanffy 2y ago
The criticism section seems to explain why the treaty was on shaky grounds. There is no right or wrong when it comes to diplomacy or war - whoever wins is who was retroactively right. I’m very sorry Ukraine and Russia were both dragged into this war because of two irresponsible and corrupt political systems.
- aguaviva 2y ago
  Whoever wins is who was retroactively right. That's definitely a very Kissingerian way of looking at things. But if it appeals to you, I guess you're entitled to it.
  - rbanffy 2y ago
    We have no power to force a stop to this conflict and nobody responsible will ever be prosecuted. It is a very Kissingerian world and I don’t like it, but I was not consulted before being born on it. In any case, weapon designers must be glad their stuff is getting tested and the feedback allows those weapons to be improved.
    - aguaviva 2y ago
      I invite you to consider the possibility that, although individually we are powerless -- collectively and in an emergent fashion, we very much do create the reality of the world we live in (as concerns human and social constructs at least). So if enough people are resigned to the idea that fascism (or its brother in terms of international relations -- the idea that the world is intrinsically amoral, and no one is ever really held to account for anything) is "just the way the world works" -- sooner or later, that's the system they'll be living under. And in fact, this is one of the core mechanisms by which such oppressive systems take hold and gains their legs. In more succinct terms (to the point of sounding trite): Another world is possible.

rbanffy 2y ago

The criticism section seems to explain why the treaty was on shaky grounds. There is no right or wrong when it comes to diplomacy or war - whoever wins is who was retroactively right. I’m very sorry Ukraine and Russia were both dragged into this war because of two irresponsible and corrupt political systems.

aguaviva 2y ago
Whoever wins is who was retroactively right. That's definitely a very Kissingerian way of looking at things. But if it appeals to you, I guess you're entitled to it.
- rbanffy 2y ago
  We have no power to force a stop to this conflict and nobody responsible will ever be prosecuted. It is a very Kissingerian world and I don’t like it, but I was not consulted before being born on it. In any case, weapon designers must be glad their stuff is getting tested and the feedback allows those weapons to be improved.
  - aguaviva 2y ago
    I invite you to consider the possibility that, although individually we are powerless -- collectively and in an emergent fashion, we very much do create the reality of the world we live in (as concerns human and social constructs at least). So if enough people are resigned to the idea that fascism (or its brother in terms of international relations -- the idea that the world is intrinsically amoral, and no one is ever really held to account for anything) is "just the way the world works" -- sooner or later, that's the system they'll be living under. And in fact, this is one of the core mechanisms by which such oppressive systems take hold and gains their legs. In more succinct terms (to the point of sounding trite): Another world is possible.