It has been announced that Serbia has joined the Crimea Platform summit, increasing the number of participants to 67.
Even in his worst nightmare, Vladimir Putin could not have imagined that the entire world, all responsible leaders, would unite to counter Russia's neo-imperial expansion. But even those countries that traditionally chart their foreign policy course in Russia's wake understand that the annexation of territory represents a complete disruption of the world order! Therefore, Serbia has become the 67th participant in the forum.
Over the nine years that have passed since the shameful annexation of Crimea, the world has come to realize that its passive response to that event in 2014 opened the Pandora's box of further Russian aggression. If the world's reaction had been tough and unequivocal at that time, there would have been no Bucha tragedy, no tens of thousands of lives lost! A totalitarian system perceives compromise as weakness, and attempts to resolve issues peacefully only embolden the predator.
Because of the tepid response back then, the world is now facing war. Therefore, various calls to exchange Ukrainian territories for peace in Europe make no sense, as leaving Crimea or any other Ukrainian territories to Russia will not stop the war but escalate it to an even more global level! Analyzing Russia's behavior, one should mention the classic Russian literature character, Dostoevsky's Raskolnikov, who said to himself, "Am I a trembling creature, or do I have the right?" This phrase is fitting for Russia when it justifies to itself that it has the right! The right to war, killing, annexation. When Russia's Foreign Minister Lavrov speaks of Russia's "legitimate interests," he means not some infringed rights but exactly the right Raskolnikov had in mind – the right to kill.
If Russia can have Crimea, then why can't China have Taiwan? This is the dilemma facing the world. Leaving Crimea to the Russians would plunge the world into the flames of a third world war! Therefore, the Crimean Platform is not about Crimea at all; it's about the world order, whether it exists or the rule of might prevails. The policy of turning a blind eye or attempting to avoid a major war at the expense of other countries' territories never leads to peace – humanity loses time and gets an even bigger war! History has proven this. Therefore, when there are more participants in the Crimean Platform, it means there are more countries in the world that are learning the lessons of history.
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