Originally Posted by
etudiant
My understanding is that grain shipments from Odessa are currently blocked because Ukraine has mined the channel to prevent any Russian naval attack.
So Russia has a free hand to discuss allowing grain shipments and blame Kiev for any holdups. Am only surprised they have not offered Mariupol as a grain terminal
afaik.
There would be an option that would be hard to argue against from Russias side and which would alleviate the risk of famine resulting from Russian aggression. shipment goes via rail to Romania, and is shipped out from there. UN provides peace keeping for humanitarian needs for grain. to rest of world.
- avoids mines/mine clearing;
- provides global food supply stability (kind of);
- add same trade of grain from Russia to countries facing famine;
- UN convoy escort through to dardanelles.
If Putin objected, he goes down in history, and there is no veneer over his disregard for the countries that are affected by the impending grain shortages. Not sure that it would even need UNSC support, it is not military, it is mine clearing.... that should be a UNGA matter, maybe.
As for NATO being past it's use by date, the structure has issues, but the need remains. In 1949, it evolved out of the threat that the USSR was perceived to be to Europe, and the insanity of the UNSC PM status. That was a shambles from the start, and was probably the best of a bad set of choices at that time, but it led to the need for NATO, which circumvented the UNSC PM impasse.
Dealing with an aggressive and paranoid neighbour who has no regard for collateral damage and any rules of law or ethics needs collective defense to provide a measure of restraint. The problem in Ukraine today is that Obama had zero interest in foreign affairs, even when the consequences of Russias action in 2014 in Crimea and the east of Ukraine that could destabilise the world that he was a prominent leader. When Russia shot down MH-17, nothing was done... The risk to the rest of the world just from the interference with grain is real, and still the UN merely wrings its hands. NATO has a vested interest in having a war on someone else's backyard, that is simply god housekeeping.
Ukraine is legally entitled to mine their own waters to deny aggressor nations. It is illegal to mine other countries waters, or international waters.
At some point in the future the whole sordid back office actions of all of the countries involved will come into to light, "Lux en tenebris" like this little bit of nostalgia from January, 1917:
