By:
• Hai Sohem

• October 30, 2024 , 7:15 PM

PHNOM PENH – Ambassador-at-large of the Russian Foreign Ministry Rodion Miroshnik says the war in Ukraine is not Russian aggression but a conflict between the Western and Eastern worlds.

In a public lecture on October 30 on “The origins of the crisis in Ukraine and the current Situation” organized by the Russian Embassy, Miroshnik defended the Russian intervention and said outsiders fueled the war.

His remarks were at odds with Cambodia’s official position.

Cambodia has repeatedly opposed any aggression against independent states while emphasizing the importance of a rules-based international order and sovereignty.

On 2 March, the UN General Assembly voted 141 to 5 for a resolution demanding that Russia immediately withdraw its forces and abide by international law.  Cambodia has voted twice at the UN to condemn the invasion.

However, Miroshnik said, “War in Ukraine is not a war between people of Russia and Ukraine. It is a war between the West and the East,” likely referring to ideological clashes that drove proxy wars during the Cold War.

Since Feb. 2022, Western leaders, notably US President Joe Biden, have blamed Russian aggression for the war. However, the Russian envoy rejected this and said what he called the “special armed operation” was to protect civilians in Donetsk and Lugansk regions from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s regime.

Miroshnik said Ukraine mobilized around 150,000 troops and deployed along its border with Russia on February 21, 2022, before Russia’s military operation started.

Russian Ambassador to Cambodia, Anatoly Borovik, said Western countries use Ukraine as a proxy to wage war against Russia, and he accused the West of being irresponsible stakeholders.

Miroshnik said the crisis began with what he described as a coup in Kyiv in 2014. This paved the way for a right-wing regime backed by the West to gain power.

He said the regime was dissatisfied with most people in the Donbas and Crimea regions, which resulted in a divorce in the Crimea region in March of that year.

Miroshnik said Russia had facilitated peace proposals seven times, including Istanbul negotiations but all had failed.

Despite a Ukrainian incursion in Russia’s Kursk region since August, Moscow was still open to a ceasefire deal with Kyiv, he added.

The war will mark third year in February with no sign of a peace agreement, despite international efforts. Conditions have become more complex with the involvement of outside parties.

While the West has backed Ukraine, particularly the US and its NATO allies, Russia has support from pariah states such as North Korea, which has sent forces to fight alongside Russian troops.

According to NATO, thousands of North Koreans are moving toward the front line, prompting Kyiv to call for more weapons and an international plan to keep those troops at bay.

Zelensky revealed this week during an interview with the Times of India that his country would seek India's help in mediating peace talks.