Two men hold the key to world peace. They can try to end the wars they are waging, one for history and the other for reprisal. But they are too preoccupied with achieving their objectives so that the wars grind on, the first approaching two years now and the second past four months, creating a huge human toll of innocent casualties.
Russia’s President Vladimir Putin, in his first interview to a journalist from the West since the invasion of Ukraine began on February 24, 2022, said many things in verbose references to history. During all that, he also let on that he expects to cut a deal with the west to retain some Ukrainian territory in exchange for a truce.
The conduit to revealing Mr Putin’s thinking may have been one of the most divisive conservative commentators in the deeply polarised American society of the day. But at least he brought out a Putin offer, however impossible the demands in it may sound, to give up a hardly justifiable disregard of territorial sovereignty leading to an invasion.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel has rejected all calls for a ceasefire, including the latest offer from Hamas for a cessation of hostilities and hostage release that was initiated by Qatar, and is intent on pressing on for absolute victory. A planned push into the refugee city of Rafah, where a million additional Palestinians are cowering in a last refuge in the Gaza Strip, is bound to add to the civilian death count, now within touching distance of 28,000, but there seems to be no restraining Netanyahu whose own continuance as PM may be contingent on the war going on endlessly.
US President Joe Biden is on record as saying the Israeli reprisals have gone “way over the top”, but then he had also said that the Hamas demands went “over the top”. Mr Netanyahu is in no mood to accept any deal that may leave Hamas back in charge in Gaza.
A demilitarised zone may be the least expectation from the Israeli side, which means no lesser deal would be acceptable. It does appear then that the world must live with two destructive wars as the horrific sufferings of our fellow humans and missiles raining deaths continue.
