NEW YORK, July 14. /TASS/. The countries of the Global South can see NATO’s unwillingness to resolve the Ukrainian crisis diplomatically, Schiller Institute founder Helga Zepp-LaRouche told TASS on Thursday, commenting on the outcome of the bloc’s summit in Vilnius.

According to her, the fact "that there was not even a shred of willingness to end the war through diplomacy was for sure noticed by the Global South."

Zepp-LaRouche pointed out that "the attempt to create Global NATO is not only upsetting China, but almost all countries in Asia." "The ordinary people will more and more question the official narrative about this conflict, as their social benefits and living standards are being cut to pieces for the sake of military expenditures," the Schiller Institute founder went on to say.

"Clearly there is the danger that the whole conflict could escalate into a global war, which the proponents of the policy to ‘ruin Russia’ clearly foolishly dismiss," she noted. The expert pointed to "the idea to build up Ukraine as a huge weapons and armaments factory with investments from the US, Germany, and other countries."

Zepp-LaRouche stressed that it was a "message to the Ukrainian people, who will not only see that as the intent to have the war continue for a long time, but also that they must expect that about 300 million cluster bombs will be dumped on them, will understand that their life and safety does not count much." Meanwhile, "the fact that there was no opposition to the cluster bombs by the other NATO members, will erode the moral standing of NATO in the eyes of the people even more."

In this situation, European countries need to cooperate with "the people of the Global South, in the creation of a new, just economic system," the expert concluded.

NATO held its summit in the Lithuanian capital of Vilnius on July 11-12. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said at the meeting that the bloc’s member states had taken three steps towards Ukraine, making a decision not to demand Ukraine implement its NATO Membership Action Plan, adopting a multi-year program of military assistance to Kiev and approving the establishment of a NATO-Ukraine Council. However, the final statement read out by Stoltenberg said that Ukraine would receive an invitation to join NATO once allies reached a consensus and all the conditions were met. Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky at a press conference expressed dissatisfaction with the decision, saying that the summit’s outcome was not ideal for Kiev as it had failed to get an invitation to join NATO.