. ‒ I voted against the final resolution because it is a recipe for prolonging the war, and escalating the conflict, rather than a resolution which could assist in delivering peace: the only way greater loss of life and destruction can be avoided in Ukraine.
I unequivocally supported the sections of the resolution which condemn Russia’s war of aggression and call on the Russian Federation to immediately terminate all military activities in Ukraine, unconditionally withdraw its forces, and fully respect Ukraine’s territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence. I express my undivided solidarity with the ordinary people of Ukraine and call for urgent diplomatic efforts to secure a ceasefire, for negotiations to end the conflict and the withdrawal of Russian military forces.
The decision by Russia to abandon diplomacy and invade Ukraine is contrary to international law. The sole responsibility for this is borne by President Vladimir Putin. However, ignoring the role played by the US and NATO in destabilising the area for the past decade, using Ukraine as a pawn in its battles with Russia, only serves to prevent an understanding of the measures necessary to secure peace.
I voted against the resolution overall because it calls to accelerate the provision of military equipment and weapons to Ukraine, to strengthen NATO’s forward presence, to increase defence spending, and to activate European common and joint defence efforts ‘in order to strengthen the European pillar within NATO.’ It also, opportunistically, calls for opening the European energy market to fracked American liquefied natural gas (LNG). Our group, The Left, sought to remove these elements from the resolution, but the majority in Parliament voted to keep them.
There is no military solution to this crisis. The policy of flooding Ukraine with weapons will, at worst, lead to a permanent condition of conflict, as has happened in Afghanistan, Libya and Syria, at best, a greater loss of life and destruction in Ukraine. I cannot support these measures, which run the risk of expanding the conflict beyond Ukraine, risking a world war in which millions of people may perish. It is the ordinary citizens of Ukraine, Russia and Europe who will pay the price of this war with their lives, a decline in living standards and the destruction of our economies, reversing measures necessary to tackle climate change. The EU must work for diplomacy and a negotiated peace. I voted in the tradition of Irish neutrality.