The audience of The Guardian, the British national daily newspaper, expresses opinion that Western ‘anti-Russian hysteria’ is unfounded. The US and EU intervened in the traditional sphere of influence of the Russian Federation. Their muscle-flexing only escalates the conflict.
Taking a look at the political map of Europe, you can see that it is the west that has been spreading its expansionary tentacles, not Russia, which is commonly blamed for it against a backdrop of the Ukrainian crisis.
The Guardian’s readers believe that the western leaders must have abolished Nato back in early 90s when the Warsaw Pact disbanded.
“Since the early 90s, western aims have been to draw countries out of the old Soviet sphere of influence and into Nato. Ukraine has always been seen as the ultimate test as to where the balance lies. The more the west provokes and teases <…>, the more Russia and its leader will rise to the bait”, Gillian Dalley from London writes.
Statements of many European and American politicians of the approach of the West to a sharp confrontation with Russia show a willingness to war. The Guardian’s readers suggest that the situation in Ukraine could have been different if the EU and the United States had changed their behavior.
“Nato has now moved right across Europe, even to the Russian border (Estonia and Latvia are members). Now there is talk of Ukraine joining Nato. We could achieve a much more peaceful world by encouraging Russia to move closer to, and even join, the European Union. Citizens who want a peaceful world <…> must ensure that these matters are not left to the generals”, Jim McCluskey from Twickenham, Middlesex, says.
So some readers note that more and more common sense about the Ukrainian crisis appears in the western press. Politicians and journalists opposed to sanctions and a display of power from the West are on the right side, they say.
