Zepp-LaRouche Tells TASS, Putin ‘Evokes the Spirit of the Peace of Westphalia’
May 10—Yesterday was Victory Day, commemorated with solemn ceremonies in Russia and in the many nations that were formerly part of the Soviet Union. The fight against the German Nazi onslaught 80 years ago cost the nearly 40 million Soviet citizens—soldiers, women, children, the elderly. The Nazi assault was intended to be the final extermination of the peoples of the Soviet Union and others across Europe.
In Asia, more than 20 million Chinese lost their lives in the fight against the Japanese. That is the setting behind President Xi Jinping’s current Peace Tour in Western and Eastern Europe. That is the history behind Russian President Vladimir Putin’s offer this week to negotiate for peace in Ukraine and elsewhere as required, but only on an equal, mutually respectful footing with the West. In this context, the interview of Schiller Institute founder Helga Zepp-LaRouche, a German, in TASS, the official Russian government new agency, published May 9—focused on a proposed new Peace of Westphalia as the only “way out” to prevent World War III—is of no little significance. TASS elaborated on the content of the Treaty of Westphalia, explaining that “its principles are still relevant.” Here is the full English text of the interview in TASS:
Headline: Putin’s Inauguration Speech Evokes Key Principle of Peace of Westphalia—Analyst
“It is of existential importance that President Putin reiterated, in his inauguration speech, his openness to have a dialogue with the West,” Helga Zepp-LaRouche said.
WASHINGTON, May 9 (TASS)--Russian President Vladimir Putin’s inauguration speech evoked the key principle of the 1648 Peace of Westphalia, which called for countries to respect each other’s interest, Helga Zepp-LaRouche, the founder of the Schiller Institute, said in an interview.
“It is of existential importance that President Putin reiterated, in his inauguration speech, his openness to have a dialogue with the West on an equal footing, and with respect for each other’s interest,” she said.
However, at the same time, the Russian leadership “makes clear, through the rehearsing of the maneuvers of deployment of tactical nuclear weapons, that Russia will not tolerate the crossing of more red lines.”
Putin’s speech “evokes the spirit of the Peace of Westphalia, which occurred when the war parties of the Thirty Years’ War realized that if the war continued, there would be nobody alive to enjoy the victory,” the analyst said.
“The key principle of the Peace of Westphalia was the recognition that in order to have peace, you have to respect the interest of the other,” she continued.
The Westphalian system of international relations evolved in Europe on the basis of the Peace of Westphalia, which concluded the Thirty Years’ War in the Holy Roman Empire in 1648. Its principles that are still relevant in relations between countries are the priority of national interests, the principle of balance of power, state sovereignty, the right of countries to demand non-interference in their internal affairs, the principle of international law and the use of diplomacy in international relations, along with some others.
Vladimir Putin was inaugurated as president on Tuesday [May 7]. In his speech, the head of state signaled that Moscow is ready for a dialogue on security and strategic stability, if its partners agree to hold talks “not from a position of strength, without any arrogance, swagger or a feeling of pre-eminence, but on an equal footing and respecting each other’s interests.”
Putin took office as president of Russia for the fifth time. The Russian presidential election was held from March 15 to 17. According to the Central Election Commission, the incumbent president won 87.28% of the vote. The election’s turnout was 77.44%, the highest in Russia’s latest history.
