Former foreign secretary Shahidul Haque has said the stance of Bangladesh on the Russia-Ukraine war is well neutral and balanced.
"The position needs to be reviewed in the evolving situation," Shahidul Haque said this at a seminar.
The former foreign secretary is also a fellow at the South Asian Institute of Policy and Governance (SIPG) at North South University (NSU).
The seminar titled, ‘‘Russia-Ukraine War: who gains, who loses?’?’ was organised by the Center for Peace Studies (CPS) of SIPG at the NSU Syndicate Hall.
While discussing the impact of war on Bangladesh and South Asia and the role of UN, Shahidul Haque said neutrality may not be the chosen path every time.
He also said Bangladesh is keeping watch on the situation and has taken an interim stance.
Whatever stance Bangladesh pursues, there is an impact of war, he added.
Prothom Alo Diplomatic Correspondent Raheed Ejaz, professor Helal Mohiuddin, professor Mohammed Nuruzzaman and assistant professor Ishrat Zakia Sultana from the Department of Political Science and Sociology, NSU, among others, attended the seminar moderated by professor Sk. Tawfique M Haque, director of CPS & SIPG and chair of the Department of Political Science and Sociology, NSU.
Professor Mohammed Nuruzzaman characterized Russia's invasion of Ukraine as the conclusion of a long-running problem of Russian relations with the EU and NATO.
He also stated that Ukraine has merely become a pawn on the global chessboard.
Professor Helal Mohiuddin addressed the legal, ethical and moral perspective of this war.
He said that people should not be killed in the name of collateral damage in this war.
He also focused on racism that the non-white refugees are facing in EU countries and that must be stopped.
Ishrat Zakia Sultana spoke about Europe's current refugee crisis and the humanitarian aspect of the conflict, focusing on women and children.
She stated that, as with all previous crises, women and children will bear the brunt of this war, and voiced concern that there is no comprehensive strategy in place to protect women and children from the harmful implications of any crisis.
Raheed Ejaz highlighted the discrepancies and biases in the Western media's reporting of the war news and said that it is too early to decide which party has won the information war.
He also underlined that instead of relying solely on traditional media for fact-checking, people should seek information from alternate sources such as social media.
Shahidul Haque also spoke about the war's impact on Bangladesh, South Asia and the role of the UN.
He said that the global military-industrial complex is going to benefit from this war and humanity will lose. The UN charter and International Humanitarian Laws are not being followed here.
Most South Asian countries are sitting on the fence as they took a neutral stance on the war, he added.
Brig. Gen (Retd.) Sakhawat Hussain, senior fellow at SIPG, NSU said that the regime change in Kyiv is the main aim of Putin.
He also opined that Putin will not stop this war unless Ukraine announces that it will not join NATO and EU.
The seminar started with the welcome address by Abdul Wahab, Coordinator of CPS and assistant professor at the Dept. of PSS, NSU.
The moderator of the seminar professor Sk Tawfique M. Haque concluded the event, saying that the world will change due to this war and all should be aware of the fallouts of this war. Academics, researchers, diplomats, journalists, and students were present at the seminar both in person and virtually.