Karis courts Masisi on Russian-Ukraine war
Spira Tlhankane | Monday March 11, 2024 06:00
Russia began its invasion of Ukraine two years ago and the latter continues to fight for freedom against the former’s brutal aggression.
Karis told the media during his State visit this week that he made a strong appeal to Masisi to participate at Zelensky’s peace plan discussions because Botswana has peace knowledge building they could use. In January, the Ukrainian President promoted a Ukrainian peace plan and Switzerland from a neutral stance agreed to host a global peace summit on Ukraine. The Estonia President Karis this week was not shy to state that Russia destabilises global economy by stealing Ukrainian grain thereby increasing food and energy prices and causing global inflation.
Estonia has been supporting Ukraine's humanitarian initiative, “Grain from Ukraine”, aimed at responding to food insecurity and famine exacerbated by Russia's aggression. “More importantly, Russia is acting like a coloniser with a goal to end the sovereignty of its neighbour, overthrow a legitimate government, exterminate the Ukrainian nation and implement its abusive order and imperious self interest,” he told the media at the Office of the President. Karis said these challenges are already a foundation of a United Nations (UN) system, which is violating territorial integrity and sovereignty of an independent nation. He said if the conflict escalates, then no country would be safe. “It is our duty to protect the UN charter, we bear the responsibility of stopping the war, we cannot be neutral,” he said.
For his part, Masisi admitted that Botswana and Estonia are small and vulnerable countries but have decided to be stronger together for peace. He said Botswana is motivated by Zelensky’s peace plan, which they also support. “Conflicts big and small have devastating effects far away they might be.
They affect prices, cost of living and disturb world trade. We call those involved and those with influence to lay down their weapons and sort their differences on the negotiating table,” Masisi further highlighted. He also revealed that he and Karis held official talks and agreed on a wide range of issues among them to deepen, broaden, strengthen, and reinforce their bilateral relations. “We also discussed international peace and governance. We should make sure that Africa has a voice in the UN Council and the need for that even became more compelling when there is one country which possesses veto power in the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine,” he said. He pointed out that Russia uses its veto power to stall any prospects of peaceful settlements. He indicated that Estonia and Botswana call for a peace resolution to the conflict speedily.
“We want to influence all those to lay down their arms. Both Estonia and Botswana uphold and are committed to peaceful resolutions and use multilateral forums to advance values because our countries are small, which makes them vulnerable because we are not as influential as other states. So when we club together based on our common values, we become stronger. We have instructed our leaders of our missions to rapidly within a month develop [[an enhanced and elaborate of collaboration cooperation that builds on what already exists]],” he added. Since the war started two years ago, Botswana has been hailed for its principled support to uphold the UN Charter in the face of Russian-Ukraine war, Botswana’s commitment to democracy. Botswana reportedly voted in favour of the UN resolutions in March and in October condemning the Russian aggression and the illegal capture of Ukrainian territories. Estonia on the other side has been a supporter of Ukraine from the onset. Last month it was reported that Estonia had delivered 80 million euros ($88 million) of military equipment to Ukraine as part of its latest aid package.
The shipment comes after the country’s pledge to send “long-term” military aid to Kyiv in December. With the aid, Estonia was sending a clear message to the Kremlin that they will continue to support Ukraine until the victorious end. French President Emmanuel Macron, on the other side, has urged Ukraine’s allies not to be “cowards” in supporting its fight against the Russian invasion. However, despite Switzerland’s planned peace talks, Russia last month called the peace conference plan "pointless" and indicated it was doomed to fail without Moscow's participation.