“Putin has the world of the past in mind. He just wants to divide spheres of influence »- Corriere.it

from our reporter
Washington – Vladimir Putin got it wrong twice (at least). Or not: Imagine a world still divided into spheres of influenceas if it was possible to create a new Yalta. Second: The European Union is a partner, not a puppet of America. Michael Walzer, 87, is one of the most prominent philosophers and political scientists in the United States. Books and thinks long about The concept of “just war” And the fairness of global balances. He answers the phone from his home in New Jersey after reading gave the speech From the Tsar to the St. Petersburg Economic Forum.

According to Putin, the Americans believe that they are “God’s messengers on earth” …

(Laughter) I don’t think so. Putin proposes a multipolar plan for the planet. I think it is a fair formula that reflects the new reality. Provided that a real pluralistic balance is created. It follows that the sovereignty of all countries must be respected. Instead, it seems to me that Putin is describing another world, similar to the world of the pastwith American and Soviet realists ready to divide the spheres of influence over which they exercise their hegemony.

Aside from the propaganda, would you say that Putin reads reality by archaic standards?

“I think yes. The model of the past, when the United States acted as masters in the Caribbean or Central America, is no longer acceptable and as far as we are concerned is not even imaginable. We cannot accept that Russia continues to behave in Eastern Europe as if we were in the era of the Soviet Union or the Czars.. This has already changed. We Americans have learned the lessons of history. I mean: they just elected a president in Chile (Gabriel Borek, so) which is certainly not a friend of the United States. But no one here dreams of sustaining a coup to overthrow him, as happened with Salvador Allende in 1973.”

agree. But on a completely different level, Joe Biden on every occasion insists on the political and moral leadership of the United States…

Biden has managed to hold together NATO and the European Union, and to put together a united response against Putin’s aggression. Then It is clear that the United States has a military apparatus capable of supplying Ukraine with weapons to an extent that no European country can do. In this area, Washington continues a natural leadership. But politics is something else. It seems to me that in all these months Biden negotiated with Germany, France and the European allies as an equal partner.

How are the Europeans? Putin argues that they are weakened, obedient to America’s orders.

“Individual countries and The institutions of the European Union today are much more coherent than they were before the war in Ukraine. And also NATO is getting stronger with Entering Sweden and Finland
. I seem to see a bloc that clearly maintains the alliance relationship with the United States. Able to say “yes”, but also “no” if necessary. Indeed, there were intense discussions between both sides of the Atlantic. Differences and settlements .. In short, the exact opposite of what Putin wants us to believe.”

Is the European Union, then, really an active part of a new global equilibrium?

“Of course. There are conditions for it to really take shape. Multipolar equilibrium with the United States, Europe, China and Russia. I would like to stress that the most difficult thing to understand is why Moscow does not adopt this perspective of peaceful coexistence, instead of imagining a return to outdated paradigms.”

According to Putin, sanctions do not work. The European Union is hurting itself in a “crazy way”. Is that correct?

I am unable to assess the impact of sanctions on the European economy. Maybe this is true The effects on Russia will last longer than Western governments predict. But I am old enough to remember how the sanctions against Italy were circumvented when Mussolini decided to invade Ethiopia. These are actions that require a firm long-term attitude. In any case, it is the Ukrainians who are asking us to keep them and therefore we must continue to do so, if we are to be consistent with our obligation to help them.”

What do you think about the exit of Henry Kissinger, and on the other end of the political and cultural spectrum, the exit of the philosopher Noam Chomsky? Both ask Ukraine to negotiate with Moscow, and give up parts of its territory

“But the Kyiv government demands territorial integrity. Of course, Kissinger and Chomsky understand this. So, in fact, they hope The negotiation that passes over the head of the Ukrainians. It seems to me morally and politically unacceptable“.