A year after the start of the war in Ukraine, the conflict is still alive and without any favourable prognosis. Former NATO Secretary General Javier Solana analyzed how the Russian invasion could evolve this Wednesday and he warned that it could trigger a new scenario on an international scale. "It is very close, at the moment, to a possible cold war," predicted Solana from the Spanish city of Segovia before giving an address entitled 'The defence of Europe after the invasion of Ukraine from the political angle', in the context of the XIII Cycle of European Studies organized by the military academic centre the Artillery Academy. The man who was the head of NATO from 1995 to 1999 asserted that "you need to be able to explain what reality is, and reality is very close to a possible cold war". "Nobody wants it, at least I don't want it, and even less a hot war," he added.
Solana, who also held the position of High Representative for the Common Foreign and Security Policy of the European Union, also spoke about China's role in this conflict and its peace plan for Ukraine . For the former Secretary General of NATO, it is positive that the Asian country is involved in finding a possible solution to the conflict. In this regard, he highlighted the relationship between Beijing and Moscow and argued that "one would think that it is preferable" that they try and convince President Vladimir Putin that "this situation is not going anywhere".
Solana, on China's involvement
Specifically, regarding the plan for peace negotiations, he explained that China has put "a paper on the table" that "is nothing more than a draft". "We should, in principle, see if we can do something with it, not reject it a priori", he said. Solana was critical of the Asian giant for not having condemned Russia's attack on Ukraine, although he ruled out Beijing's possible involvement in the war by supplying weapons to Russian troops. "It doesn't seem to me that China has an interest in entering into a physical war. China and Russia have recently had closer relations, but they also had a time when they got on badly," he argued.
Javier Solana also addressed other countries, such as Brazil , "less committed" to act "as good guys" and try to "put some solution on the table". "What needs to be done is to take advantage of everything on the table to make progress on peace," he added. He also spoke positively of the European Union's reaction to the war, assuring that they have offered "very solid" support to Ukraine in "very important" and "very tense" times.