“Putin cannot win this war, and Ukraine must win this war. That is completely clear,” said Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, in her speech at the Bled Strategic Forum. The visitors applauded approvingly, as expected – with two exceptions. Slovenian Minister of Justice Dominika Švarc Pipan and Slovenian Minister of Finance Klemen Boštjančič, who were both sitting in the front row, refrained from applauding, rightly giving the impression that they were clearly rooting for the other side.
In the case of the Russia-Ukraine war, it is more than obvious who is the victim and who is the aggressor. Namely, Russia is the aggressor – because it is Russia that has invaded and attacked the territory of a sovereign state with armed forces. And it is Ukraine that is being attacked. Apparently, judging by their behaviour, this is not very clear to two members of the Robert Golob Government, who did not seem to be too impressed by what the President of the European Commission had said. It probably goes without saying that this is downright scandalous behaviour.
Je to škandal na strateškem forumu na Bledu? Ministrica za pravosodje Dominika Švarc Pipan edina, ki ni ploskala ob govoru @vonderleyen da mora Ukrajina zmagati v vojni proti Rusiji! pic.twitter.com/4Ka6xbHGmD
— Portal e-maribor.si – Слава Україні (@e_maribor) August 30, 2022
Encouraging peace and security and respect for fundamental rights and freedoms is just one of the objectives and values of the European Union, of which Slovenia is a member. The Union, together with its international partners, stands united in condemning Putin’s aggression against Ukraine. It provides the necessary support and assistance to people seeking refuge and to those seeking a safe way home. The European Union is therefore committed to continuing to provide Ukraine with strong financial, political and humanitarian assistance and to impose tough sanctions against Russia and anyone else who is also involved in the war.
At this year’s Bled Strategic Forum, Ursula von der Leyen, in her role as keynote speaker, stressed that Vladimir Putin must not win the war in Ukraine if we are to contribute to upholding fundamental principles, such as the right to self-determination and the inviolability of borders. “Ukraine must win this war,” she said clearly, reminding everyone of the sanctions that have already been imposed by the European Union against Moscow on account of the invasion of Ukraine, as well as the financial and military aid shown to the invaded Ukraine. “We will support Ukraine for as long as necessary. We are doing this for Ukraine; we are doing this to preserve European values. But we are also doing it to show Russia and the world that breaking internationally agreed-upon rules comes at a high price,” she added, as quoted by the Slovenian Press Agency.
Minister of Justice from the Social Democrats party tried to justify her scandalous behaviour
Since Dominika Švarc Pipan is the Minister of Justice, who is supposed to have respect for the rule of law as one of her most important principles, it is not at all surprising that the criticism of her behaviour is all the more resonant. But nevertheless, Švarc Pipan is now apparently trying to justify her behaviour by saying that she cannot applaud every sentence. In order to avoid the wave of accusations, she wrote the following on Twitter: “The only sentence in an otherwise extraordinary speech by Ursula von der Leyen that I did not applaud.” With this, she explained that beyond the choice of rhetorical style, she sincerely believes that in modern warns, there can be no winners and losers. “Wars bring no victories or triumph, only destruction,” she then added. Švarc Pipan also wrote that narratives are important and that she will never applaud the rhetorics of “winning wars,” only of ending them. “When we witness mechanised brutality, mass slaughter and the looming global humanitarian, environmental, economic and social catastrophe, the idiom of ‘victory’ is useless,” she also commented.
It is downright scandalous that people from a quota of government parties who are clearly Russophiles are being appointed to positions of ministers and other top positions. By failing to condemn the aggressor, you are, in a sense making it clear that it is acceptable for someone to simply invade a sovereign country and claim its territory while using any and all means necessary to achieve their goal. This is a mockery of Ukraine, which, by fighting against a much stronger country, military-wise, is saying that it is fighting for the freedom of its citizens. It is, therefore, also fighting for the values on which the European Union is supposed to be based. The suffering of the Ukrainian people can only end with the end of the war, not with the capitulation of one country. That much should be clear to anyone with some common sense. Such behaviour is certainly not something that the government of Robert Golob could be proud of. It will be very difficult for Mr Golob to build up any reputation on the international stage in this way.
Sara Kovač
