On February 27, 2025 an article by Georgy Zinoviev, the Ambassador of the Russian Federation to the Republic of Korea appeared in the Korea Times. This is a very important step in the development of relations between the two countries.
The broader context
On February 24 the EU ambassador to South Korea, Maria Castillo Fernandez, published in it an article filled with propaganda clichés such as “Russia started an illegal, unprovoked and unjustified war” or “Russia has proven that it cannot be trusted” and urged Seoul to support Kiev.
It should also be noted that Georgy Zinoviev is working hard to raise awareness of South Koreans regarding the position of our country on the Ukrainian issue, as well as on other pressing matters. (On October 24, 2024, he gave an interview to the Chosun Ilbo, a South Korean newspaper known both for its ultra-conservative stance and for its practice of regularly constantly circulating fake news about the DPRK, some of which the DPRK itself has refuted. On January 28, 2025, he gave an interview to the Russian newspaper Izvestia, in which he stated that “Seoul is interested in maintaining trade and economic ties with Russia”
Author’s comment
(comments by the author of this article are in italics)
On the three-year anniversary of Russia’s special military operation in Ukraine, there will undoubtedly be another round of the disinformation campaign against the Russian state.
And as can be seen from other materials of the same newspaper, such a campaign has begun.
The key causes of the crisis, in fact, stem from the West continuously and deliberately ignoring Russia’s security interests, the expansion of NATO military infrastructure, the rejection of the principles of indivisible security and the desire to inflict a strategic defeat on Russia.
It should be noted that we have seen exactly the same strategy with regard to the DPRK—if its security interests had not been consistently ignored since the 1990s, the so-called nuclear issue on the Korean peninsula could have been resolved by the 1994 Framework Agreement.
As part of that strategy, Western countries have systematically interfered in Ukraine’s internal affairs, lending their full support to the unconstitutional coup of 2014 that brought to power ultra-radical forces. The latter proceeded to launch a campaign to ban the Russian language, violating the rights of Russian-speaking citizens. The regions that voiced opposition were raided in a punitive military attack targeting civilians, which gave start to the bloody military conflict in Ukraine.
Not only the present author, but also other experts have often drawn parallels between the Youth Corps of Syngman Rhee’s time and the Ukrainian paramilitary organizations of today.
Russia’s attempts to reach a peaceful settlement have been consistently sabotaged. That was the case in February 2014, when a day after the president of Ukraine and leaders of the opposition reached an agreement, Western-backed Maidan activists violated it and seized power in an unconstitutional coup. That was also the case with the Minsk agreements endorsed by UN Security Council Resolution 2202 (2015). Today, their signatories, including former Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko, ex-German Chancellor Angela Merkel and former French President Francois Hollande, boast [about] deliberately using the agreements to buy time and pump Ukraine with arms.
Kiev did not conceal its objectives, which were a violent takeover of Crimea and the uncontrolled Donbas territories.
Russia’s actions in 2022 were fully consistent with the UN Charter that enshrines the principles of sovereign equality of states and the right of nations to self-determination. The Declaration on Principles of International Law, unanimously adopted by the UN General Assembly in 1970, states that the principle of respect for territorial integrity applies to “states that act in accordance with the principle of equal rights and self-determination of peoples […] and thus possessed of a government representing […] the whole people belonging to the territory.” The fact that the Ukrainian neo-Nazis did not represent the people of Crimea and Donbas requires no proof The unconditional support that Western countries have lent to the actions of the Kiev regime is nothing other than a violation of the principle of self-determination and interference in internal affairs.
On the other hand, the UN has also recognized the principle of inviolability of borders, which has allowed it, depending on the political situation, to prioritize this or that border, thus demonstrating double standards, which has been criticized by Russian politicians.
Russia’s actions to protect the Russian population in the former Ukrainian territories were carried out in accordance with Article 51 of the UN Charter and were met by failed attempts of the West to isolate our country politically, destroy it economically and cancel it culturally. The same countries that are now hypocritically accusing Russia of aggression have either turned a blind eye or actively participated in the military interventions in Yugoslavia, Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya and Syria, to name a few.
It should be noted that Turkey’s intervention in Syria is also based on the declared aim of protecting the country’s Turkish-speaking population—again, double standards.
As for the prospects for a peaceful settlement, the West still adheres to the so-called “Zelensky Peace Formula”—an ultimatum demanding Ukraine’s return to its 1991 borders, Russia’s payment of reparations, and the Russian leadership being brought before some international tribunal. The beginning of the US-Russian dialog gives hope for a more rational approach.
Yes, the war of words between Kiev and Washington is an important sign of the new times, but let us wait for deeds, not words. In his first term, Trump promised “fire and fury” to Pyongyang, but the result ended up being somewhat different.
In order to achieve lasting peace, it is important to address the causes of conflict. Russia is ready to come to an agreement in accordance with the proposals announced by President Vladimir Putin on June 14, 2024. Many of its parameters were agreed between Russia and Ukraine back in April 2022 in Istanbul. However, Kiev, instigated by the West, decided to break its promises and sought to defeat Russia. Obviously, we must now take into account the fact that the situation “on the ground” has changed.
Addressing the root causes of conflict ends it, which is why the present author has repeatedly pointed out that mechanically transferring the “Korean scenario” to the Special Military Operation will not work.
If the neo-Nazis had not succeeded in organizing a coup d’état in 2014, Ukraine would have remained within the borders of 1991. If Kiev had honored the Minsk agreements, it would have kept Donbass. If Kiev had signed the peace agreement initialed in Istanbul in 2022, its terms would have been much more favorable to Ukraine. Its European allies should keep this in mind—Russia wants peace, but will fight as long as it takes to ensure its security and protect the rights of the Russian people.
Again, the rhetorical question is what the situation in Korea would have looked like had the US not violated the Framework Agreement and similar later attempts to settle the issue.
Of course, the opinions expressed in the article discussed here do not necessarily reflect the views of The Korea Times—the editorial board is insuring itself against unnecessary questions—but it is safe to say that the Russian diplomat’s efforts have created a breach in the opponent’s wall of propaganda.
Konstantin Asmolov, PhD in History, Leading research fellow at the Center for Korean Studies, Institute of China and Modern Asia, Russian Academy of Sciences
