The 2025 EU Non-Proliferation & Disarmament Conference was organised by the Istituto Affari Internazionali (IAI) of Rome. Remarkably, this year, the IAI celebrates its 60^th anniversary of existence. The Istituto Affari Internazionali (IAI), an important think tank in Italy focused on international affairs, receives funding primarily from the Italian government through various budgetary allocations. As of 2025, its annual funding from the Italian state is approximately €4.2 million.

In sharp contrast, the International Security Forum Cyprus has, in the seventeen years of its operation, received zero funding from the Cypriot government. Nevertheless, ISF raises the security and foreign policy-oriented research flag of the Republic of Cyprus where there is no presence otherwise.

The Brussels EU Disarmament Conference is the annual flagship event that brings together experts from governments, international organizations and research institutions worldwide to discuss all aspects of the EU’s non-proliferation and disarmament agenda. Invariably, this agenda, includes arms control, chemical, biological and nuclear weapons, space security and emerging technologies. Over two days, participants engaged in open and substantive discussions aimed at advancing global non-proliferation and disarmament objectives. The Conference also seeks to support the implementation of the EU Strategic Compass. It formulates policy recommendations to strengthen the EU’s role in these fields.

The Workshop of Young Researchers on Xi Jinping Thought on Diplomacy was held at the Songjiang campus of SISU on 30 September 2025. The conference was organised by the School of International Relations and Public Affairs (SIRPA) of SISU and the Study Center on Diplomacy of the Shanghai Universities.

Professor Yang Jiemian, former president of the Shanghai Association of International Relations and Chairman of the Academic Advisory Committee of the Shanghai Institutes of International Studies, delivered a keynote address entitled My vision of the Systematic Construction and Academic Interpretation of Xi Jinping’s Diplomatic Thought.

The workshop was attended by young SIRPA graduates, as well as current graduate students keenly interested in mainstream theoretical research. Participating graduate students came from no less than eight country wide institutions as follows:

Shanghai Jiao Tong University

East China Normal University

Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences

Shanghai Institute of International Studies

Jiangsu University

Jiaxing University

Tongling University

Gansu University of Political Science and Law.

The workshop was chaired by Professor Guo Shu Yong, Party General-Secretary of SIPRA at SISU, and the leading expert of the Xi Jinping Thought Institute of Diplomacy. Professor Chang Can from the Department of research results and platform management of the Research Office at SISU, and Professor Liang Kun, Director of the Institute’s Office, also shared their practical experiences.

In his closing speech, Professor Guo praised the brilliant speeches delivered by the graduates, noting that the Chinese Communist Party committee of SISU, the university leadership, and its bodies attach great importance to academic research of Xi Jinping’s Diplomatic Thought, the practice of the “three progressions”.

Co-Authors: Dr. Morris Mottale & Dr. Yiorghos Leventis

At the end of the Cold War, in Washington and Western Europe there was a consensus that a new world order was coming around. Overlooked was the fact that an Islamic revolution in Iran led by an octogenarian Ayatollah brought a series of upheavals in the Islamic world that saw radical terrorism, revolutions in Africa, and civil wars that continue to this day. These events were capped years later by conflicts in Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, North Africa, and Sub Saharan Africa and eventually a radical Islamic takeover in Afghanistan. In short, the end of the Cold War brought an endless list of conflicts of which the two outstanding ones are the war in Ukraine and the war within the Gaza Strip. There are at least fifty other wars in Africa and Asia but they do not make the news, including conflicts in Somalia, Central Africa Republic, Ethiopia, Sudan, Southern Sudan, and The Republic of Congo among many others.

The preeminence of international news networks such as CNN and the BBC along with social media brings the focus solely on the Arab-Israeli conflict and American politics. By the year 2000, there was a consensus that the new International System would see antagonism between China and the United States. By 2025, Chinese commercial trade preeminence was challenging the European Union and the North American free trade area. From 2000 onward, the Chinese set out to create a new economic block known as BRICS which is composed of Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa, and by 2025 they included Egypt, Ethiopia, the UAE, Iran, and Saudi Arabia. The direct challenge to the US in many areas of the International System began with the challenge that Radical Islam, shaped and manipulated by the Ayatollah, posed against the US, France, and Great Britain. The outstanding tool for Islamic expansion was the Arab-Israeli conflict and more specifically the Palestinian issue. Within a few years of the establishment of what appeared to be peace treaties between Israel and some of its neighbors (Abraham Accords), the Islamic world and the Global South saw antagonism to the existence of the Jewish state, with regional conflicts in which conflicting parties took sides in the Arab-Israeli conflict. Interestingly, the same parties, with some exceptions including India, are also members of BRICS.

The preeminence of the United States – however much challenged by China, Russia, and Iran – did not decrease the importance of the United States presidential elections of 2024. For the world, the US election was bound to be a defining moment in international politics, regardless of the outcome. The outstanding elements in the International System are the resentment and imitation of American cultural trends, including US mass media. What passes for American soft power is affirmative action and the woke ideology. The US stands out as an agent of cultural change. The anti-women movement in Islamic society has been influenced by the globalization of American culture and the preeminent role of women in American and European society. Misogyny has become a political ideology in the Islamic world. The competition between the major powers is compounded by the rise of new technologies, shaped by electronic communication, artificial intelligence, and cyber technology.

In 2013, China proposed changes to global currency to bypass, if not outright abolish the US Dollar. The original BRIC group was dubbed very loosely the “BRICS,” including Brazil, China, Russia, India, and South Africa. In time, other countries also joined. Venezuela and Turkey are seeking entry to the trade group, which has gained momentum.

The official members of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization are primarily Asian, Arabic and nations within the former Soviet Union, but growing interest across the Middle East and South America is notable. In 2004, the SCO officially established relations with the United Nations as an observer, in addition to other international bodies.

Two principle international conflicts, the Gaza War and Ukraine, along with conflicts in Africa and Asia have sped up the process of this new world order, where the Anglo-American ideal of a rule-based system is being challenged on the grounds that it is fundamentally pro-American, pro-Liberal, and pro-Capitalist. The rise of conflicts within the Islamic world and the widespread anti-Israeli, anti-Jewish and anti-Semitic positions of many countries from Latin America to Asia to Africa are adding another dimension to this new world order yet to come.

Rise of Islamic Politics in the West

The rise of Islamic politics in France, Germany, Belgium, Holland, Canada the United States and the United Kingdom has influenced domestic electoral politics. In Europe, for example, the rise of the so-called extremist parties like AfD (Alternative for Germany) or the Rassemblement National in France have given new weight to the idea that liberal democratic order, which has characterized the development of Western Europe and America in the post-war period, is not accepted by large portions of the population. Similar trends are evident across Europe, with the rise of Vox from Spain, 5 Stelle in Italy, and BNP in the United Kingdom.

Speaking of the latter, let’s take a closer statistical look at the upsurge of Islamic politics in the UK. There is an array of hard political facts: Muslims count for four million in a total population of 66 million in the UK. Yet they elect Muslim mayors in no less than nine major urban centres in the country, including the mayor of the capital, London, of the second largest city Birmingham and of the world-renowned liberal university city of Oxford. The other six Muslim-led municipalities are: Blackburn, Leeds, Luton, Oldham, Rochdale, Sheffield. There are now 3,000 mosques, (one mosque per 80 square kilometres roughly) 130 Sharia Courts and 50 Sharia councils in the UK. Seventy-eight per cent of Muslim women do not work and receive state support, 63 per cent of British Muslims are out of work and receive state support. UK Muslim families on the receiving end of state support and free accommodation have on average six to eight children. Every school in good old Christian England is required to teach about Islam. Under such circumstances, guess which is the most common name given to British boys nowadays. You guessed right: it is Mohammed!

Greece: Demographic Collapse

At the other end of the Old Continent, Greece, an ancient nation reborn in 1830, lying at the southeastern fringes of the European Union, has been in deep trouble for the past two decades. Endemic corruption and leadership incompetence brought up mounting external foreign debt. Greece’s government debt hovers around 160 per cent of the GDP. The country’s economic woes are compounded by the hordes of irregular migrants. Periodically, vulnerable segments of Hellas’ 15,000 kilometres long coastline get awash with hundreds of mainly sub-Saharan and Middle Eastern unsolicited destitute visitors. The Hellenic Republic currently hosts a large number of immigrants accounting for over a million or approximately ten per cent of the total population, a considerable proportion of whom are Muslim. Pew Research and other international reports estimate there are 520,000 additional Muslims in Greece who are refugees, regular or irregular migrants, or asylum‑seekers. This number is in addition to the indigenous recognized Muslim minority in Western Thrace numbering around 140,000 people. Sharia law applies for this minority, which enjoys a special status in terms of religious and cultural rights, in derogation to the Hellenic Civil Law, in compliance with the Treaty of Lausanne of 1923 governing its status.

Greece’s Muslim immigrants are in the most part Albanians (over 0.4 million) who are not particularly devout Muslims given their socialization for over 50 years in a totalitarian communist regime banning religion. In fact, a number of them, in their everyday life, adopt Greek names – either ancient or modern.

However, what should be underlined, is that the rise in the incoming Muslim population in the Hellenic Republic comes on the sharp backdrop of the flight of an impoverished indigenous Greek Orthodox population. Young Greeks are forced to become economic migrants themselves in the more affluent countries of the northern tier of the EU, the UK, the US and Canada. A rough total figure of migrant Greeks for the first quarter of the 21st century is estimated to be around 1.3 to 1.5 million! This is definitely a generation lost for the country. Brain drainage ad nauseum.

To make things worse, Greek birth rates are falling rapidly. Though a small nation, or perhaps because of this, the sharp demographic decline of Greece, has not escaped the attention of Elon Musk. The flamboyant billionaire businessman reposted, on 2 September 2025, an article that reported over 700 schools in Greece were closing due to falling student numbers. He captioned the post: “The death of Greece.” The actual number of Greek schools shutting down because of failing to reach the threshold of fifteen pupils is 721. Conclusively, in the first quarter of the current century, the Hellenic Republic lost well over a million of highly qualified young Greeks only to be replaced by half a million of unskilled Muslim immigrants.

Development of communication technology, social media

The causes of such new developments have to be found in the development of communication technology and what we used to call rising expectations, which characterized the study of development in the 50s and 60s. Social media and international visual communications have fueled rising expectations in the 21^st century. This New World Order has also been characterized by large numbers of so called “illegal” immigrants from Africa, Asia, and Latin America moving to North America or into Western Europe.

In the case of Germany, for example, the growth of “extremist” parties has been fueled by the presence of illegal immigrants and the ease with which the German government has allowed real and imaginary refugees to move and enjoy the benefits of a welfare society in Germany under Angela Merkel. In fact, by September 2024, Germany had imposed passport controls on its borders, irritating some of its neighbors because this policy is against the idea of an integrated, borderless Europe. Both in Europe and North America, the rise of Chinese exports and the decline of local industries, ranging from the car industry to chemicals and steel, has led the traditional working classes to support nationalist and protectionist parties. American elections have seen both parties talking about protecting American industry. This also seems to be the case in Canada.

This new world order has also been propelled by the so-called “Woke Business,” the rise of racial identification, which has added to racial and identity politics all over the world. In Islamic countries, ranging from Pakistan to North and West Africa, this has meant the persecution of Christians and Jews, to the extent that women who do not wear the hijab face persecution. Paradoxically, Islamic society is also being threatened by radical Islamic societies. Al Qaida and violent subversive groups are propagating across Africa and Asia.

Leadership in Western Europe and North America has sometime faced this issue in response to radical terrorism such as 9/11 and Bataclan. More immediate political concerns and challenges see democratic political systems concentrating on jobs, education, human rights, immigration and, last but not least, climate change. Historically, from the Napoleonic period onward, world orders and balances of power never lasted more than a generation. For example, the Peace of Versailles world order lasted twenty years. The Cold War order in Europe lasted from 1947 to 1989. The relative peace that followed the fall of the Soviet Union lasted fifteen years at most, as NATO expanded into Eastern Europe and the rise of a new Russia set off a renewed arms race and added more weight to the developing BRICS.

The spectacular victory of the Ayatollahs in the Middle East and the rise of radical Shiite politics saw Iran waging ideological and international antagonism against Israel. This was historically due to the fact that Ayatollah Khomeini and his followers were violently opposed to the existence of a Jewish state and Zionism. The war in Gaza, while carried out by Hamas, has been instigated and pushed by the Ayatollahs of Iran, unhinging any attempt by the United States and Europe to bring some degree of a peaceful order in the Middle East.

An interesting facet of this new world order was how India, China, and even some Islamic countries such as the United Arab Emirates became interested in a race to the moon. The increasing competition for status and prestige saw an explosion of international sports. Countries such as Saudi Arabia and Qatar bought themselves international competitions and famous European players to attempt a change in global perspective towards them, with mixed success.

One approach to studying these new developments would focus on the idea of cultural and political resentment by non-European countries, which for the last two centuries have seen France, Britain and the United States shaping the international order and cultural and political values, ranging from the status of women to economic protectionism and the assertion of secular Euro-American values. For example, the decline of Indian socialism has meant the rise of a new Indian identity which focuses on Hinduism, and the reassertion of Indian heritage against Islam, creating further violent conflict with Pakistan. Cultural trends from the United States, such as radical feminism, transgenderism, the acceptance of homosexuality and homosexual marriages have added even more contentious issues characterizing this new world order. In Russia, Putin’s government has made clear that homosexual values and marriages will not be accepted, and this has of course been the case in countries in Africa and Asia.

An insight into the cultural and economic context of the rise of BRICS and the New World Order should not overlook the fact that many of the conflicts in the world are of cultural origins. At one time, one could have employed the term “ideological,” but culture and ideology overlap each other, as do religious attitudes. While Islam began as a religion, after centuries of theologically based governance, it has also become a foundational cornerstone of the political ideology of the Middle East. In today’s world order, Islam has taken on heavy political connotations and has been used by radical groups to unhinge societies in European and American states.

Trumps administration in Washington in 2025 was attempting to enhance American power and control conflicts in the name of an American regulated international system. Whether that idea was feasible remains to be seen. As it was of May of 2025, India and Pakistan were on a threshold of war in Kashmir. It added even more to the notion of civilization and religious conflicts that characterized the Islamic world. From the Atlantic to the Indian Ocean and from North Africa to the Cape.

Preface

There has been an effectiveness of Chinese diplomacy towards resolving the Palestinian issue in all occasions and forums since the Bandung Conference in 1955, when China affirmed its rejection of foreign occupation and its support for national liberation movements aimed at self-determination. And with the aggravation of the field situation in the Middle East region, which has become a threat to security, peace & stability due to the absence of a serious solution to the Palestinian issue, which is witnessing unprecedented developments and conditions due to Israel continues its open war and unilateral actions in all the occupied Palestinian territories, Gaza, the West Bank and East Jerusalem, and refusing to recognize the Palestinian rights. Therefore, China stressed the importance of the commitment of all parties, including Israel, to the rule of international law to resolve the Palestinian issue, noting that resolving the Palestinian issue is important for achieving peace and stability in the Middle East, in contrast, the absence of its solution will affect those efforts and thus threaten international security and peace.

Abstract

The study aims to shed light on the importance and development of Chinese diplomacy between theory and reality, through the connection of that diplomacy with the values and culture of Chinese characteristics, where that diplomacy was characterized by openness and cooperation in order to achieve security, peace and sustainable development for all without exception. It is noteworthy that there is a connection and harmony between the goals and principles of this diplomacy and the Chinese civilization, which is based on understanding, dialogue and exchange with the culture and civilization of others to reach a common destiny.

Therefore, China has put forward the four global initiatives, development, civilization, security and governance, with the aim of achieving integration and joint action to create a community of common destiny in the new era. Thus, it firmly stressed on respect for the sovereignty and rights of states and non-aggression or interference in their affairs, achieving equality in dealing with each other regardless of the strength, size and wealth of each state, and embodying justice, integrity and fairness by strengthening the rule of law on all without exception, and resolving disputes by peaceful means without shortage or prejudice to the rights of others.

And one of the most important features of understanding the nature of Chinese diplomacy is the clarity in the attitude between theory and practice towards supporting the solution of the Palestinian issue, and therefore the Chinese position is consistent and continuous towards resolving the Palestinian issue in accordance with international law, and China has not put forward an alternative to that, as it committed to the path of the two-state solution and supported the political process provided that justice and fairness are fully achieved towards the Palestinian rights.

Based on this, the current study indicates that Chinese diplomacy, at all stages of its development, is able to support & achieve the solution of the Palestinian issue, by putting forward many relevant effective ideas and initiatives, and adhering to a firm position to resolve the issue in all circumstances and occasions on the basis of a comprehensive and just solution. However, this requires joint action and serious responsibility on the part of other actors in the Middle East region in order to achieve international justice towards resolving the long-awaited Palestinian issue, as well as paying attention to the initiatives and goals of Chinese diplomacy to be a supportive and effective factor to re-strengthen the international system on the basis of justice and fairness.

Chinese diplomacy

There is an effectiveness of Chinese diplomacy towards supporting the solution of the Palestinian issue in all forums and in various fields since China’s recognition of the state of Palestine in 1988, knowing that it has been supporting and standing with the issue and the Palestinian people since the fifties by rejecting the occupation and advocating the self-determination of people. This diplomacy is different from all other efforts in support of truth, justice and integrity, and the reason for this it is related to the values and culture with Chinese characteristics, the Chinese culture is not aggressive or Colonial, but is associated with openness and achieving peace and development for all without exception. This is the goal of Chinese diplomacy, which seeks to achieve it through its effective affirmation of commitment to and application of the rule of international law and achieving international justice on all outstanding international issues, the most important of which is the resolution of the Palestinian issue.

The effectiveness of this diplomacy has been expressed through the presentation of many effective ideas and initiatives over the past decade and current time, which are consistent with international law and the UN Charter to resolve all issues such as the resolution of the Palestinian issue. The most important features of these initiatives are that it seeks to strengthen international relations on the basis of cooperation and joint action, and it has not been put forward as an alternative to the United Nations system, its charter and the international institutions. And also it stays away from any alliances against any party based on the principle of respecting the rights and sovereignty of states and not interfering in their affairs or assaulting them. In addition, it complies with the principles of international law and works to protect it through governance and achieve international justice in order to maintain international peace and security.

Chinese diplomacy has put forward many initiatives at the international level that are also related to solving the Palestinian issue, such as the four global initiatives, development, civilization, security and governance, the four-point initiative in 2017 and the four-point plan in 2021 to solve the Palestinian issue. These initiatives and ideas related to the resolution of the Palestinian issue stressed the importance of a peaceful path according to the two-state solution, provided that the United States and Israel should have cooperated with these calls and do not ignore the solution of the Palestinian issue, as well as abide by international law and the international will. Recently, Chinese President Xi Jinping has reiterated the need to achieve international governance in the current international system through achieving the rule of law and international justice towards outstanding international issues, the most important of which is the Palestinian issue, stressing the importance of building a more just and equitable multilateral international system away from the unilateral system led by the United States and its allies, and therefore launched on the first of September 2025, the Global Governance Initiative.

As a result, the Chinese diplomat has sufficient awareness and wisdom to deal with sensitive issues, the most important of which is the resolution of the Palestinian issue, so China will be able to take responsibility and resolutely cooperate with international parties to achieve security, peace and stability in Palestine and the region despite the complex circumstances.

The Palestinian Issue

The Palestinian issue continues to suffer from the absence of a just and comprehensive solution in accordance with international law and resolutions of international legitimacy due to the United States’ disregard for the Palestinian rights by using its veto in international forums, as well as continued support for Israel at all levels, and its insistence on not stopping the war on Gaza despite the international consensus to achieve this. However, China has actively supported a just and lasting solution to the Palestinian issue for decades, and has consistently affirmed its position to resolve the Palestinian issue by realizing the right of self-determination of Palestinians through establishing an independent and sovereign Palestinian state. Besides, it also has stressed the need for Palestine to obtain full membership in the United Nations, and announced its support for the New York Declaration on the two-state solution and the efforts to recognize the Palestinian state in the international arena. Moreover, it has worked with all international and regional parties resolutely to end the war on Gaza, introduce aid, lift the blockade and protect civilians, stressing that the way to do this is to get rid of the occupation and achieve international justice for the Palestinians.

It is worth mentioning that China has not stood in the way of any previous or current attempts to resolve the Palestinian issue, provided that it should be serious & it has an international consensus, regardless of the source of those attempts or efforts. For instance, China supported and welcomed the talks and peace process between the Arabs & Palestinians and the Israelis in the late eighties, and recognized the state of Palestine to support the Arab-Palestinian position and international efforts to achieve the sovereignty of Arab countries and the self-determination of the Palestinians. Furthermore, the United States submitted a draft resolution to the UN Security Council in March 2002 No. 1397, which stressed the need to support the establishment of two states, Israel and Palestine, within its security borders, as a result of the outbreak of the second Palestinian intifada. So China and the rest of the member states voted on the US draft resolution, and it did not take a counter-decision because America sponsored the draft, out of respect for the international will to support efforts to achieve peace, as well as its support for the establishment of a Palestinian state in accordance with international law and consensus.

Besides, the Arab summit in Beirut announced the Arab Peace Initiative in 2002, which stipulated the recognition and embodiment of the Palestinian state before the establishment of normal relations with Israel. This initiative was adopted as one of the references for resolving the Palestinian issue at the regional and international levels, and therefore China supported and welcomed this initiative and the Arab efforts to resolve the Palestinian issue. In return, the United States supported the normalization of relations between the Arab state and Israel, away from the efforts of that initiative to establish peace and stability, which has become one of the Arab, Islamic and international references for resolving the Palestinian issue.

The Palestinian issue has been undergoing unprecedented developments since the seventh of October 2023, in light of the continuation of the Israeli war on the Gaza Strip, the taking of unilateral measures in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, the refusal to recognize legitimate Palestinian rights, and non-compliance with international law to resolve the Palestinian issue with the active support of the United States in all forums. In contrast, Chinese diplomacy has characterized by supporting the efforts of the international community to stop the war, introducing aid and seriously seeking to find a just and lasting solution to the Palestinian issue, where China stressed the need for compliance and application of international law to resolve the Palestinian issue by the United States, Israel and all relevant parties.

This confirms that Chinese diplomacy is committed to its firm and effective position to support the resolution of the Palestinian issue despite all the circumstances and the attempts to downplay the importance of those efforts and initiatives by the United States and its allies, which still refuses to cooperate with China effectively to achieve peace and stability in the region through resolving the Palestinian issue. China does not use the Palestinian issue as a tool to strengthen influence and control, achieve a special interest, or support one axis or ally against another, because Chinese diplomacy stems from values and culture with Chinese characteristics based on openness and cooperation to achieve the common destiny of all without exception.

On the other hand, the United States, Israel and their allies have been procrastinating in adhering to international law to resolve the Palestinian issue for decades, ignoring Chinese ideas, calls and initiatives to promote justice and the rule of international law to resolve the Palestinian issue, in addition to not cooperating or obeying the international consensus in this regard. This was noted at the 80th meeting of the UN General Assembly recently in New York during the two-state solution conference, which received an effective international consensus, where China and many partners and sponsoring countries announced their active support for this conference, seeking to prevent them from resolving the Palestinian issue by establishing an independent and sovereign Palestinian state in accordance with international law, and therefore more western countries announced their recognition of the Palestinian state on the basis of the two-state solution, but the United States, Israel and their allies opposed these steps, considering them a unilateral escalation that threatens security and peace in the region, amid escalating accusations among all parties to bear the consequences later.

Achievements

The interest of Chinese diplomacy in the Palestinian issue and considering it as one of the main axes of Chinese foreign policy in its international relations is an achievement, because China is a permanent member of the UN Security Council and has extensive international relations and an active role in international organizations and institutions to protect international peace and security. In addition, China supports the institutions of the Palestinian state in various fields, and its pursuit of Palestinian internal unity through the “Beijing Declaration” in July 2024. Also China was the first country to recognize Palestine as a state, and has supported all Arab and international draft resolutions and initiatives in the UN Security Council and the UN General Assembly to resolve the Palestinian issue, the most important of which is the right of Palestinians to self-determination and the establishment of an independent and sovereign Palestinian state. And one of the most important countries that firmly demanded the need to end the war on Gaza, the introduction of aid, the lifting of the blockade and the end of the occupation of the Palestinian territories in accordance with international law. Besides, China supported the two-state solution conference in New York in line with the Arab and international will, and demands that Palestine obtain full membership in the United Nations. Therefore, Chinese diplomacy is resolutely effective in supporting the resolution of the Palestinian issue despite all circumstances and obstacles.

Challenges

The solution of the Palestinian issue still faces effective challenges, the most important of which is the US ignoring the solution of the Palestinian issue through unlimited support for Israel, as well as non-cooperation with the international consensus in this regard, and content with the unilateral opinion of the leadership of the international community through the American point of view in dealing with outstanding issues, the most important of which is the Palestinian issue. In addition, Israel’s non-compliance with international law and resolutions related to the Palestinian issue, its refusal to stop the war, the introduction of aid and lifting the blockade on the Palestinians, and refusal to declare a two-state solution as well, and therefore not responding to the efforts of the international community seeking to resolve the Palestinian issue in a just, comprehensive and sustainable manner to achieve peace and stability in the region. Besides, there are some obstacles related to the European side, namely interference in the internal Palestinian affairs regarding the future and form of the system of government in Palestine, as well as imposing preconditions on Palestinian politicians that may affect the course of achieving Palestinian national unity. So this will affect the “Beijing Declaration” to achieve reconciliation and Palestinian national unity, and therefore the absence of Palestinian internal unity means the absence of governance of the Palestinian institution, and this will affect the joint efforts of China and other countries to resolve the Palestinian issue in international forums.

Conclusion

Chinese diplomacy has been resolutely and consistently effective in resolving the Palestinian issue at all international events and forums for decades. The goals and aspirations of Chinese diplomacy are in line with international law and the UN Charter to resolve the Palestinian issue. The absence of a solution to the Palestinian issue does not mean the weakness or inefficiency of Chinese diplomatic efforts towards it, but rather the absence of serious and responsible cooperation by the United States, Israel and their allies in the international system. The United States continues to support Israel and ignores the solution of the Palestinian issue in accordance with international law, and uses a veto against any decision in this direction, as well as the lack of seriousness of its steps towards accepting the governance of the current international system, and thus maintaining dominance and control over this system as it deems appropriate to resolve its outstanding issues, including the Palestinian issue.

On the other hand, Chinese diplomacy has succeeded in strengthening coordination and cooperation among member states, and has reactivated international commitments to affirm the right of self-determination of the Palestinians and the establishment of an independent and sovereign Palestinian state, and China has supported the two-state solution conference and the efforts of countries to recognize the Palestinian state recently. In this context, Chinese diplomacy has activated the tools of political and diplomatic action through multilateral relations, thereby mobilizing international public opinion to support the path of a two-state solution and then a comprehensive, just and lasting solution to the Palestinian issue in accordance with respect for the rule and principles of law and international references.

As a result, the efforts of the Chinese diplomatic mission will remain effective and continuous to enhance cooperation within the international system to be more just and equitable towards resolving the Palestinian issue, and this has been noted by the increasing international recognition of the Palestinian state and the adoption of the two-state solution conference as a path to resolve the Palestinian issue with actual measures. This gives the Palestinians and the Chinese “hope” to continue cooperation with member states to support the governance of the international system based on justice and the rule of international law, and this means achieving multilateralism and then resolving all international issues, the most important of which is the Palestinian issue. Therefore, China is able to achieve this because the wisdom of Chinese diplomacy is based on integrity, justice and respect for people’s rights.

Global Stability in Focus: Disarmament, UN Reforms, and Pathways to Peace

The interview will also be published in the magazine Chinese Views on Non-Traditional Security. The full text of the interview can be found in the following link: 

https://www.spcis.org/post/yiorghos-leventis-global-stability-in-focus-disarmament-un-reforms-and-pathways-to-peace

The winter season that we have just left behind, November 2023 to March 2024, has been very hectic in our director’s international activities. Below is the list of in-person participations in international fora.

November 2023

Dr. Yiorghos Leventis took part, upon invitation, in the 7^th Southeast Europe Energy Forum, held in The MET Hotel, Thessaloniki, Greece on Tuesday, the 7^th of November. The day conference concentrated on the synergies in energy cooperation between the Balkan countries. Bulgaria had a three speakers line up whereas Albania was represented by the Greek speaking head of the country’s Electricity Authority.

On the culture – performing arts dimension, Dr. Leventis took advantage of his presence in Thessaloniki to watch and peruse films at the 64^th Thessaloniki Film Festival. The occasion gave him the opportunity to interview in private the legendary Greek film director Nikos Perrakis.

December 2023

December (3^rd and 4^th) saw Dr. Leventis travelling to Brussels, the EU capital. He was a delegate, the only one from either Cyprus or Greece, in the EU Non-Proliferation & Disarmament Conference held over two days in the THON Hotel Brussels City Centre. Save for a South African speaker presence from Pretoria, the rest of the speakers concentrated on the Euro-Atlantic perspective on the current dire global geopolitical situation.

March 2024

On Friday, March the 8^th, Dr. Yiorghos Leventis gave a seminar at the Institute for National & International Security, INIS, in The theme of the seminar was the following:

The Status and Role of the British Bases in Cyprus and the Diego Garcia Base – Chagos Archipelago, St Mauritius: A Comparative Perspective

The audience of young researchers from Czechia, spending an internship at INIS, Belgrade, showed great interest in the subject of the use of the geo-strategic location of Cyprus by Great Powers. The lively discussion followed a lunch offered by the INIS Director.

Finally, on the 12^th and 13^th of March 2024, Dr. Leventis travelled to Budapest for the Budapest Balkans Forum https://budapestbalkansforum.hu/. The BBF has been extremely successful, attended by 700 delegates from the diplomacy, academy and the press world. As it usually happens, the International Security Forum’s Director was the only Cypriot presence in the conference. Furthermore, Dr. Leventis was joined at the two-day conference participation by Mr. Ion Craciunel, ISF Senior Research Associate and a seasoned expert in international affairs. The two-member ISF Cyprus delegation held a number of fruitful consultations at the margins of the conference and pledged to participate in the follow-up review BBF to be held in the Western Balkans during the forthcoming Hungarian presidency of the EU Council in the second half of the year.

In 2014, brother nations (“bratskie narodi”) Russia and Ukraine, united by common cultures, mentalities, customs, traditions and closely related languages, became enemies. They have remained so for eight years now. The main reason behind this negative development has been the geopolitical game between the Russian Federation (RF) and the West.

The Moscow-organized referendum resulted overwhelmingly (95%) in favor of the union of the Crimean Peninsula with the RF. The Russian government considers the referendum’s result as a sufficient international law basis for the accession of the said region into the RF. However, the West dismissed this result as being rigged (or engineered) by the Kremlin. What are Russia’s security concerns though as they seem to be at the heart of the current crisis?

First, Moscow is concerned that the United States (under the guise of collective NATO defense) will eventually deploy troops (and possibly missiles) in Ukraine as military cooperation between the two has seen unprecedented growth since the regime change of 2014 in Kiev. (NB: Regime change has been a time-honored “tenet” of US foreign policy – we need not elaborate in the confines of this short article.)

In this respect, let us mention that Russia has kept Kaliningrad a semi-exclave, situated on the Baltic coast, bordered by Poland to the south and Lithuania to the north and east. Thus, this Russian strip of land is squeezed by two NATO members with the US stationed troops. Currently, approximately 4,500 US personnel are on rotation in Poland while Lithuania seeks permanent US military presence in the country (online report by Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, February 9, 2022).

Second, without Crimea, the Black Sea, which connects European Russia to the rest of Europe, would become a vulnerable point for Moscow. In the case of the Baltic Sea region, Russia maintains a balance of power with its weapons in Kaliningrad, reducing vulnerability in its northwest. However, Russia would become vulnerable in its western and southwestern part: In the Black Sea the RF is surrounded by Georgia and Ukraine, which are both hostile, plus Romania, Bulgaria and Turkey, all three NATO member-states. Moreover, it is well known that the latter, boasting the second strongest army in NATO, harbors neo-imperial ambitions of control over former Ottoman lands in the Middle East, the Caucasus as well the Turkic republics of Central Asia (Pan-Turanism).

The Donetsk and Luhansk regions of Ukraine also held a referendum. Unlike Crimea, as of 2014 they received the status of an unrecognized state, separate from Ukraine and Russia. However, the Ukrainian crisis did not end there. We are now witnessing the second most active phase of the crisis.

Russia is pursuing an open foreign policy, positioning itself as a friendly state, in order to improve its image in the eyes of the world community, as evidenced by various international programs and projects for young people and foreign students, international humanitarian assistance, as well as peacekeeping and anti-terrorist missions in Syria and Nagorno-Karabakh.

Given the above facts, it becomes clear that Russia wants to convince everybody that it has no reason to attack Ukraine, except for one – Ukraine’s NATO accession. Therefore, the troop buildup near Ukraine’s borders is an accompanying tool for negotiating security guarantees.
Ukraine itself seems not to be the question, but the negotiating terrain between Russia and the United States. Russia’s national interests appear not to be founded on the capture of Ukraine, but on the inadmissibility of NATO’s expansion to the east.

Such is clearly reflected in the proposals for security guarantees put forward to NATO and the United States: non-advancement of NATO to the east and non-deployment of weapons systems near the borders of Russia. Russia’s proposed non-expansion of NATO not only implies an exclusion of Ukraine and Georgia from NATO membership, but also a return to the 1997 membership, which means the exclusion from NATO of North Macedonia, Montenegro, Albania, Croatia, Bulgaria, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia and Estonia. Of course, the Kremlin understands that such a turning back of the clock is practically impossible. However, it is a frequent stroke of Russian (and not only) diplomacy by Russia to go for the maximum in order to secure the desired minimum.

The Russian leadership has repeatedly stated that the inclusion of Ukraine in NATO is a red line. At the same time, the Kremlin reckons that the US-NATO camp shares its unwillingness to enter into a direct confrontation. First, after the Iraq and Afghanistan debacle, fresh US foreign meddling in Ukraine could deal a serious blow to the current Biden administration’s domestic approval rate. Second, NATO has no legitimate reasons to provide military assistance to Ukraine. Third, an eruption of war will lead to sad consequences for the whole world.
For all the above reasons, it seems that Moscow’s proposals for security guarantees are a good enough compromise option for both sides.

Possible crisis outcome

A possible scenario would be the conclusion of an agreement on security guarantees, where the main emphasis would be placed on the non-deployment of medium-range and shorter-range missiles near the borders of Russia. Consequently, even if Ukraine joins NATO, missiles will not be placed on its territory. Of course, this does not form a new world order, but it will ensure regional security.

From Moscow’s perspective, subjugation or occupation of Ukraine is not the end. Prevention of NATO expansion is. Russia fears the deployment of troops and missiles near its borders. It is a red line in its foreign policy. The Ukrainian crisis is not at all about Ukraine. It is about the conflicting geopolitical interests of Russia and the United States in the former Soviet space. On the one hand Moscow attempts to form a multipolar system of international relations while on the other hand Washington favors steadfast adhesion to the unipolar system established at the end of the Cold War.

Last but not least, we should not forget the important role of China in providing political support to Russia. At the same time, however, Beijing aims at capturing the energy market in Europe, which Moscow stands to lose in case sanctions are imposed.

The Western alliance launched the air attack campaign which lasted for 79 days and nights – it started on 24 March 1999 – without the due authorisation by the UN Security Council. Obviously, the unauthorised air raids were in direct breach of international law: NATO was not in any conceivable way threatened by the then Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (FRY) to warrant a self-defence response.

‘Humanitarian intervention’ was NATO’s brand name for the massive air raid on the rump FRY. The Brussels headquartered alliance referred to the protection of the Albanian minority – residing mostly in Kosovo – from the federal Yugoslav army ‘onslaught’. But how humanitarian was NATO’s intervention? Here are the ‘humanitarian effects’ of the almost three-month long air raids: between 489 and 528 civilians killed on top of about one thousand members of the Yugoslav Security Forces. The bombings destroyed or damaged bridges, industrial plants, hospitals, schools, cultural monuments, private businesses as well as barracks and military installations. Modest estimates put the value of the immediate material damage inflicted at around $35 billion. This figure does not include the tremendous loss of future production capacity as a result of the obliteration of the country’s industrial base by NATO’s bomber jets. Twenty one years later, NATO has not compensated a single billion for this immense catastrophe. (Interested in learning excruciating details of this untold story? Browse the book entitled Crime in War, Genocide in Peace: The Consequences of NATO bombing of Serbia in 1999 authored by three professors: Vladislav Jovanovic, Slobodan Petkovic & Slobodan Cikaric, www.slglasnik.com, Belgrade 2012).

A single extract from the afore-mentioned book would suffice (pp. 14-15):

Regrettably, it was not only that political and military leaders of the major NATO Members were absolutely unscrupulous in committing aggression … but they also totally disregarded their moral duty following the aggression, to provide assistance in the identification and rehabilitation of the contaminated areas, funding for overcoming the created [sad] situation and compensation to the victims or their families for their loss, traumatic experience and covering of medical treatment expenses. Instead of showing at least minimum solidarity with the innocent victims, NATO leaders are watching quite indifferently, from the heights of their invulnerability, how Russian experts specializing in demining and decontamination are assisting, at their own cost, the clearance of some contaminated areas. (Vladislav Jovanovic: NATO Aggression against the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and Depleted Uranium)

As it happens Russian humanitarian aid to Serbia is not a desultory affair: early in April of the current year, the Russian Ministry of Defence dispatched 87 military virologists and doctors, special and protective equipment as well as sixteen pieces of military equipment to assist in the fight against coronavirus. The aid warranted eleven Il-76 flights to Serbia. Two Russian medical teams stayed on in the Serbian capital, where the most difficult epidemiological situation has developed, whilst five more were sent to the cities of Nis, Kikinda, Valevo and Chupria. President Vucic, whose party opposes NATO membership, thanked the Russian president, for volunteering this valuable aid at the height of the Covid-19 lock down.

Next Sunday, June 21^st, Serbia goes to the polls. The country’s future relations with NATO form part of these general elections’ foreign and defence policy agenda on which the battle for power is fought. Belgrade has a twenty-one year old unsettled bill in US dollars – undoubtedly an eleven digit figure – to claim from the unscrupulous Western alliance.

In less than a year time (May 2021) the Cypriot voters will also go to the polls for parliamentary elections. The island republic’s relations with NATO has also been part of the Cypriot national debate. The issue is complex; equally historically loaded. It was NATO-member Turkey which invaded Cyprus in 1974 using NATO weaponry. The US arms sales embargo imposed on Turkey in the aftermath of the invasion was so short-lived that amounted to a mockery. Like in the case of NATO air strikes on Serbia, Ankara failed to pay the billions in compensation for damages and war crimes committed by its invading troops in Cyprus. Not to mention NATO’s complete failure to reign in Turkish continuous trouble making in the Aegean and Mediterranean Seas. So much so that an exacerbated French Ministry of Defence had to put out a no-word-mincing statement: there is a Turkey time bomb within NATO, let’s face it, otherwise we fool ourselves!                                            

Indeed, Ajaria has presently been turned into a geopolitical battlefield between Ankara and Tbilisi, in which Recep Tayyip Erdogan, dreamer of the revival of the Ottoman Empire, wins without exercising much effort. The Turkish leader’s ambitions on Ajaria are fed by the fact that the Georgian region is the birthplace of his ancestors who lived there early in the 20^th century.

In fact, the Southern half of the Batumi region (modern Ajaria) was ceded to Turkey under the terms of the Treaty of Kars, Soviet-Turkish Treaty of 1921. However, under the terms of the same treaty, the strategic port city of Batumi, would become part of Soviet Georgia as the Ajar ASSR (Autonomous Socialist Soviet Republic).

Moreover, Batumi was designated as a free port city for the Black Sea littoral states. Indeed, till the dawn of the 21^st century Ajaria enjoyed broad powers: tax revenue was kept for local development while the region run its own military and border police. All this dramatically changed with the rise of Mikhail Saakashvili to power in Tbilisi (2004). As Ajaria sought complete independence from Tbilisi, Saakashvili retaliated with economic blockade of the autonomous region. In the short-lived confrontation with the government in Tbilisi, the rebellious Ajarians blew up bridges, dismantled railways lines and destroyed other parts of infrastructure whilst the Ajar Army took up defensive positions on the border. Aslan Abashidze, the local strongman, heir of a princely dynasty idolized by the local population, who was leading the confrontation with Tbilisi was forced to resign as his resources were not sufficient to take on Saakashvili. The latter sent off his political proteges to run Batumi while many of the region’s autonomy powers were removed.

What is interesting is the Islamic-Turkish angle to the whole Saakashvili affair: through his mother, who was closely connected with Turkish businessmen and Islamic preachers, he allowed such Islamic-oriented Turkish business interests to gain foothold on the Georgian Black Sea coast. In the pursuit of his own personal gain, Saakashvili’s plan was to turn his Batumi’s coastal area into the ‘Las Vegas of the Black Sea’. As he aspired to join NATO, the former Georgian President’s deal with Erdogan included the expectation for the latter’s aid in pushing for Georgia’s accession to the Euro-Atlantic defence structures.

Unsurprisingly, under the favourable regime afforded by Saakashvili, within a few years Erdogan’s army of Islam-rooted entrepreneurs have dominated the region. Consequently, not only local business interests but also wage workers have been pushed into the background as the Turkish businessmen unobstructed brought their compatriot workforce with them.

In fact, Turkish investments in Ajaria work exclusively for the benefit of themselves: all financial flows in the Georgian autonomous region are under the strict control of Ankara. For example, Batumi’s international airport, built by a Turkish construction company, practically functions as a Turkish airport for domestic flights, as the only operated flights originate from Ankara and Istanbul. Moreover, according to the relevant Georgian-Turkish bilateral agreement Turkish nationals are exempt from passport and customs control!

The ‘soft squeeze’ of the indigenous Georgian population has been the order of the day in Ajaria: Islam-rooted Turkish business leaders not only discriminate against the locals in hiring workers but intrude also the religious sphere: desecration of Christian churches comes with a creeping imposition of Islamic faith and traditions. In those fifteen years, these Turkish businessmen have been acting as if they are the absolute rulers of Ajaria, feeling that the iron shadow of powerful Muslim Brother Erdogan will thwart any attempt by the Georgian authorities at protesting the anti-Georgian state of affairs.

The current situation in Ajaria bears much resemblance to the fate of Northern Cyprus, where in the past forty-six years, the majority Greek Orthodox population has been expelled. In both cases, the long-term expansionist design of Ankara has been premised on the use of the Turkish minorities in order to alienate parts of neighbouring states. After the expulsion following the double Turkish invasion of 1974, more than a third of the island’s territory was unilaterally declared the ‘Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus’, a secessionist act condemned immediately by a UN Security Council resolution in 1983. Despite the lack of international recognition ‘TRNC’’s ‘unilateral declaration of independence’ UDI was never revoked. If anything, the self-styled ‘TRNC’ as a puppet state of Ankara, lays claim in the hydrocarbon-rich sea shelf around the island.

Parliamentary elections are due in Georgia next October. Under the above described circumstances, a possible comeback to power of Saakashvili’s United National Movement Party would spell disaster for the country. Many Ajarians as well as Georgians see the possible re-rise of Saakashvili as the final act in the process of Ajaria’s annexation by Greater Turkey. The fear appears that the re-emergence of Saakashvili in the political arena as the Head of the Executive Committee of the National Reform Council of Ukraine will allow him to resume the role of Erdogan’s lackey.