Do most countries want peace or war? If you take the statements of leaders at face value, nearly all opt for peace.
US President Donald Trump boasts of ending eight wars, and was recently awarded Fifa’s new peace prize. Chinese state media has said that President Xi Jinping has been “unrelenting” in his “pursuit of peace”. Russian President Vladimir Putin has said: “We need a lasting and stable peace on solid foundations that would satisfy both Russia and Ukraine, and would ensure the security of both countries.” The Gulf states want peace, and so do countries in South-East Asia.
European and Nato leaders, on the other hand, appear to be desperate for confrontation.
Within the last week, Britain’s Armed Forces minister, Al Carns, has said: “The shadow of war is knocking on Europe’s door and that war could be bigger and bloodier than what we have experienced in recent times.” Nato’s Secretary General, former Dutch prime minister Mark Rutte, went further. “We must be prepared for the scale of war our grandparents or great-grandparents endured,” he told an audience in Germany.
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