Richard Haass: US expert suggests Russia’s invasion could affect global security

Monday, March 7

US expert suggests Russia's invasion could affect global security

Richard Haass, a US expert on diplomatic matters, has suggested that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine may have a global impact on security in an interview with NHK.

Haass is the president of the Council on Foreign Relations, an independent US think tank. He was formerly Director of Policy Planning at the State Department during the presidency of George W. Bush.

Haass said the world operates on certain principles or rules, and that the most basic rule is that borders and sovereignty ought to be respected. He said, “We ought not to try to change borders through the use of force,” adding that Russia is clearly violating this rule.

He then pointed out that if Russia can cross borders to enter neighboring countries, other nations may say they can also do that. He said, “if that begins to happen, then we’ve moved from a world of order to a world of anarchy, and I think that would be a disaster.”

One of the questions put to Haass was whether the Russian invasion would have an impact on the policy of US President Joe Biden, particularly with regard to the American position in Asia. Biden has described China as his country’s “most serious competitor.”

Haass said if the US has to do more in Europe in response to the crisis in Ukraine, countries such as Japan and Australia will have to do more as well. He pointed out that Japan spends just over 1 percent of its GDP on defense, describing this amount as “not enough.”

Read the original article on the site of NHK.