The Scottish Socialist Party condemns the Russian invasion of Ukraine as an unwarranted act of aggression, regrets that this long-running conflict has reached the point of full-scale war, calls for an immediate ceasefire and the pursuit of a negotiated political settlement which takes into account the desire for peace and security on all sides.
The SSP respects the sovereignty of Ukraine and the national rights of all minorities including those in the Donbas and Luhansk regions up to and including the right to democratic, independent self-government without outside interference whether that be from either the right-wing nationalist regime in Kyiv or the gangster capitalism of Vladimir Putin and his Russian oligarchs.
The SSP believes the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation is a belligerent relic of the Cold War, one which fundamentally mishandled the opportunities the post-1989 settlement offered the world and did so in order to gain its own geopolitical advantage. Its relentless eastward expansion has done nothing to promote peace in the region nor calm Russian security fears since then. The Ukrainian Government’s own actions since 2014, by disregarding the Minsk Accords, have often contributed to that sense of insecurity.
The SSP stands in solidarity with the working class in Ukraine and Russia in their pursuit of peace and prosperity and the overthrow of their own capitalist exploiters and dictators. We applaud the courage of both those resisting this invasion in Ukraine and their counterparts in Russia protesting against the war despite facing the inevitable oppression meted out to them.
Finally, we call for an immediate ceasefire, the withdrawal of Russian troops, and a negotiated political settlement that delivers peace and security to all peoples throughout the region.