Unless you help end the war, Ms Truss, our problems won’t go away

The new prime minister will not be able to tackle the economic problems of the country. The ongoing problems are problems for the whole of Europe and beyond. A constantly escalating global economic crisis will render all measures taken ineffective.

The main cause of this economic crisis is the Russo-Ukrainian war and the ensuing East-West economic warfare. For as long as that main cause exists and escalates, nobody can solve our economic problems.

Those who promise they will be able to put this escalating crisis under control, while the causal reality is still in existence, they are either naive or knowingly lying. Most probably the second rather than the first.

Unfortunately, the current leadership of the parliamentary Labour Party, is no exception. They fully support the foreign policy that brought us to the economic mess we are in today. Some of them probably know it is wrong and disastrous but they do not have the guts to oppose it.

Weapons worth billions are sent by the Tory government to Ukraine, with the absolute support of the two-party political elite, prolonging and escalating the war, which means tremendous material destruction and loss of life, millions of refugees and economic misery and impoverishment for their own citizens.

This foreign policy is both disastrous and immoral. Both the current generation and future generations, for decades, will pay the price for such catastrophic, vain policies. We simply cannot afford this war and the economic chaos it has created.

The backfiring sanctions are destroying us faster than Russia. Since last May, Dr Henry Kissinger, the most distinguished USA veteran statesman, speaking at the Davos World Economic forum on 23 May 2022, had warned against allowing ourselves to live “in an increasingly confrontational and chaotic world”.

In Dr Kissinger’s opinion, Ukraine should be “a neutral kind of state, as a bridge between Russia and Europe” and “movement towards negotiations on peace” should had begun within “the next two months”, before creating “upheaval and tensions that would be ever-harder to overcome”.

Dr Kissinger also said: “We are facing a situation now where Russia could alienate itself completely from Europe and seek a permanent alliance elsewhere. This may lead to Cold War-like diplomatic distances, which will set us back decades. We should strive for long-term peace”.

Unfortunately, our new prime minister is heading in the opposite direction. Failing to work for a diplomatic solution to end the war in Ukraine and the consequent East-West economic war will have (and is already having) devastating repercussions.

In July last year, EU commissioners set out a range of green policies to put the continent on a path to becoming climate neutral by 2050. “The fossil fuel economy has reached its limits,” said Ursula von der Leyen, the commission president.

Little more than a year later, those commissioners are now overseeing tens of billions of euros of spending on fossil fuel infrastructure and supplies, amid severe cuts to gas supplies from Russia and record high prices.

The EU, which previously relied on Russia for about 40 per cent of its gas and more than half of its coal, seems to have little choice. Industries from fertiliser manufacturers to zinc smelters have had to close, unable to pay the cost of fuel. Energy bills are pushing consumers to near poverty.

Unsurprisingly, the Russians are escalating their countersanctions against the West. Russia’s gas supplies to Europe via the Nord Stream 1 pipeline will not resume in full until the “collective west” lifts sanctions against Moscow over its invasion of Ukraine, the Kremlin said on 5 September 2022.

Dmitry Peskov, President Vladimir Putin’s spokesman, blamed EU, UK and Canadian sanctions for Russia’s failure to deliver gas through the key pipeline, which pumps gas to Germany from St Petersburg via the Baltic Sea.

The Kremlin’s decision pushed Europe one more step closer to recession. EU energy ministers are to gather for an emergency meeting in Brussels on September 9 to discuss their response.

Josep Borrell, the EU’s chief diplomat, on Monday acknowledged that “certain political factions” in the bloc wanted the EU to drop its support for Ukraine, push Kyiv into a ceasefire and abandon sanctions against Russia to ease economic pressure on European countries. He said those views were “not representative” of the position adopted by member states.

Borrell spoke after protests in recent days in the Czech Republic and Germany against the rising cost of living and comments from Czech politicians on Monday calling for a new attitude from the EU.

One thing is clear: Stop sending weapons worth billions, prolonging the war. Take diplomatic initiatives to solve the problem peacefully. Stop the sanctions and the language of hatred. Restore peace and normal life. That’s the only way to solve our problems.

Mankind needs all of the Planet’s resources to survive. Without the Russian gas, there can be no transition to a sustainable energy system for Europe. At this crucial stage, which is probably our last chance to save the planet, a war is the last thing we needed.