The world's oldest sitting politician, 97-year-old former Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, who is still a sitting member of the country's parliament, supported Russia in the current geopolitical conflict with a series of messages on his Twitter account.
Describing the history of relations between Russia and the West - from alliance in World War II to the geopolitical conflict of our day - Mahathir Mohamad sharply condemned the militarism and political selfishness of Western countries.
"They glorify war. They celebrate murder. They make murderers heroes; they reward them, build memorials and design ceremonies to commemorate them. They prepare for wars by drills and war games. They are constantly inventing new weapons that kill people more effectively. They say that for the sake of peace, countries must prepare for wars," the politician wrote.
"But then, having prepared for wars by inventing new ways to kill people and equipping their military with them, they feel the need to test their new weapons. They incite wars between nations. And often they fight themselves," he wrote.
After World War II, the West saw Russia, yesterday's ally, as a new enemy, the former Malaysian leader wrote, noting that a years-long cold war then followed. When it ended, "instead of dissolving NATO, the Western powers persuaded former Warsaw Pact members to join NATO and the European Union, Russia was not invited, it remained a potential enemy," the politician noted.
As more former Warsaw Pact members joined the European Union and NATO, Russia found more new enemies on its western border, Mahathir Mohamad said.
"The idea, apparently, was to provoke Russia. Ukraine was going to join NATO knowing full well that Russia would feel threatened because Ukraine is its neighbor," he wrote, noting that NATO countries never recognized Ukraine as a member of the alliance, but continued to provoke Russia by reporting, which he believes ultimately led to the current conflict.
During the conflict, the West has only supported Ukraine with money and supplies, the former Malaysian prime minister continued.
"Not a single NATO soldier died, and NATO countries were not harmed. It is the best of European strategies to carry out actions that are almost equal to proxy war," he pointed out.
"Meanwhile, provocations have moved to the Far East (including East Asia - ed.)," concluded the world's oldest politician.
Mahathir Mohamad, who led Malaysia's government from 1981 to 2003 and is considered the author of the Malaysian "economic miracle" and then, at the age of 92, was elected prime minister again in 2018 and served in office until March 2020, is now in hospital: he was hospitalized on August 31 after testing positive for COVID-19. The series of tweets, which the politician usually writes or dictates himself, cheered many online users subscribed to the former prime minister's account, as it showed that Mahathir Mohamad was feeling better.
GSV "Russia - Islamic world"
Photo: official website of the President of the Russian Federation
Based on materials from RIA Novosti