By Vasilis Moutsoglou
Minister Plenipotentiary First Class (ret.)
Regarding Russia’s (almost) unprovoked invasion of Ukraine, which rightly provoked the West’s indignant response, the West itself bears a share of the responsibility. I am not referring solely to the overthrow of Ukraine’s legitimate government in 2014 with Western leverage, but more broadly to the West’s general conduct in international affairs—policies and actions that not only lacked ethical and legal foundations but also undermined international legitimacy and enabled behaviors like Russia’s in Ukraine and Turkey’s in Syria.
Chronologically, the West initially tolerated—and in practice continues to accept—the 1974 invasion and occupation of European territory, which marked the first postwar instance in Europe where one state attacked another with the intent to annex land. This was followed by the West’s military involvement in the breakup of Yugoslavia and the seizure of Serbian territory—devoid of any legal basis—through Western military force and the recognition of Kosovo as an independent state.
When it comes to broader ethical and legal issues in international affairs, which should not be underestimated as they shape public perceptions, the West has repeatedly found itself on the wrong side of history.
After Afghanistan—where it allied with Al Qaeda—the West supported Islamist terrorism in Algeria during the 1990s by politically condemning its secular regime and administratively backing Saudi Arabia and the Gulf states that were cooperating with it against Algeria. A third case of West–Al Qaeda collaboration emerged in Libya, where NATO forces intervened militarily in 2011 in favor of the rebels, who were largely Islamists.
This West–Al Qaeda connection resurfaced in Syria during the civil war. According to the Arab press, members of French intelligence, the CIA, and Germany’s BND were present in Turkey, even before the armed operations began, coordinating efforts to organize the Syrian “dissidents,” who in reality were Islamist militants arriving from Libya, Chechnya, Afghanistan, and elsewhere.
Al Qaeda’s leader, Al-Zawahiri, was at the time publicly urging Muslims to wage jihad alongside the West.
Following the recent overthrow of Syria’s legitimate (though disfavored by the West) government by a military movement orchestrated by Turkey, the EU has expressed support for Syria’s de facto authorities who seized power—despite the fact that shortly before, armed groups linked to this Western-backed government committed mass killings of Christians and Alawites without encountering any objections.
Lacking even minimally credible ethical foundations—recognized internationally—Europe now calls upon Turkey (guilty of a similar crime to Russia’s) for support in shielding itself against a Russian attack that has never actually been threatened. In doing so, Europe overlooks not only Turkey’s behavior during the last World War but also its recent refusal to participate in sanctions against Russia.
Power plays a major role in international relations. But invoking ethics and legality only when it is convenient is, in itself, unethical.
And in the long run, it is usually (though not always) ethics and legality that prevail.
It is good that we are part of the West. But critique is also a fundamental right of its citizens.
*The text by Mr. Vasilis Moutsoglou was translated into English by “Anichnefseis”.
