Russian President Vladimir Putin helped rally the West when he went to war against Ukraine last year, and Western countries have stood firm in their support for the Ukrainian people. But after the world’s attention has turned away from Ukraine and towards the war in the Middle East, Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide is now worried that the closest unison support to Ukraine may crumble. The foreign minister believes this is connected to the West’s response to the war between Israel and Hamas, and that the West may have lost some of its trust: – We now see a greater division between the countries that support Israel, and the large majority who feel that there are strong double standards , and that one understands far too little of the Palestinian perspective, says Eide to news. Criticism of “double standards” The West has recently been criticized for operating with different norms in Ukraine and the Middle East, both by private individuals on social media and by heads of state around the world. When politicians from countries in Europe and the Middle East met in Egypt in October to discuss the war between Israel and Hamas, Jordan’s King Abdullah came out hard on the West: – Anywhere else, attacks on civilian infrastructure, deliberate starvation of an entire population with food, water, basic necessities, be damned. – International law loses all value if it is implemented selectively. The Jordanian king received support from several Arab leaders, including Egypt’s president Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and Saudi Arabia’s foreign minister Faisal bin Farhan al-Saud. Eide is now afraid that an experience has spread that Palestinian lives are not as important as Israeli ones, and calls it “a dangerous experience”. UN Secretary-General António Guterres and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi during the “Cairo peace summit” in October. Photo: Egypt’s president’s press office / AP Several NATO countries have also criticized Israel’s warfare in Gaza, including Canada, Spain and France, which have asked Israel to respect international law, according to The Guardian. May shake up support for Ukraine On Tuesday and Wednesday, the foreign minister is in Brussels to meet his colleagues in NATO. Both the war in Ukraine and the Middle East are on the agenda. Ahead of the meeting on Tuesday, Eide expresses concern both about the impression that the West operates with two standards – and that this could, in the worst case, shake support for Ukraine: – We must take active measures to show that the standards we stand for, obligations unabated and regardless of who broke them, says Eide, and refers to both humanitarian law and international law. Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide will hold talks with US Foreign Minister Antony Blinken on Tuesday, where they will, among other things, discuss the war in the Middle East and the possibilities for a two-state solution. Photo: Saul Loeb/Pool / AP Must also criticize countries that are close to us What words are used to describe a war are important. The Minister for Foreign Affairs is clear that one must not shy away from criticizing countries, just because one is normally close to them: – It is not particularly demanding to criticize someone one is initially against for breaking the rules. It is more demanding when it is a country you are normally close to. But it is all the more important to speak up. In international politics, the norms are not stronger than the practice they lead to. – If we mean it in Ukraine, we must mean it in the Middle East, says Eide. The Foreign Minister clarifies to NTB that Israel has the right to defend itself, but that Israel’s warfare in Gaza has been in violation of humanitarian law. – Keeping an entire civilian population of 2.3 million people without water, electricity, medicine, food and fuel for many weeks is contrary to humanitarian law. And we experience that so many killed, so many children, so many civilians, are not proportionate to the purpose. – When we say this about Russian behavior in Bakhmut, it would be strange if we didn’t say it about Israeli behavior in Gaza City, the foreign minister points out. Ukraine is worried Now Ukraine is worried that the social division and the weakened awareness of the war in Ukraine could lead to lower support in the future. Ukrainian President Zelenskyj has on several occasions expressed concern that the war in Ukraine has received less attention. Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba has blamed Russia for supporting Hamas, precisely because the war in the Middle East stole attention from Ukraine. Eide agrees that everyone who wants to weaken the West’s power and influence is now wringing their hands over the situation. But he is clear that Norway’s support for Ukraine is unwavering: – I have spoken to Kuleba. Our support is unabated and long-term. NATO’s Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg acknowledged on Tuesday that it will be a challenge to ensure that support to Ukraine will continue, but that NATO will stand by them in any case: – It is our duty to ensure that Ukraine gets the weapons it needs. It would have been a tragedy if Putin had won, not only for Ukraine, but also for us, he said.
ttn-69
