We publish below the Posadists’ statement published for the International Conference against War that took place in London on June 20, 2026.

On behalf of the Posadists, we welcome this important international anti-war conference in London on June 20, 2026.

With this document we wish to contribute to the debate and the proposal by the organizers to create an « Organized International Network for Peace, opposed to the American Imperial Project, and fighting for the livelihoods, even the lives themselves, of workers ».

We welcome the trade union delegations of many countries of the European Union, as well as the dockers of Genoa and elsewhere. We welcome the opportunity to meet students who have organized major demonstrations against compulsory military service in Germany and several other European Union countries.

The International Network will only defend peace by fighting alongside the anti-imperialists
This International Conference against War offers a great opportunity to develop scientific ideas capable of unifying the human feeling that rejects war, with the awareness of the need to oppose the source itself, namely the capitalist system.

Even with their limits, it is not the workers’ states (especially Russia, China, North Korea and Cuba) that are stiring up wars. They defend themselves against the increasingly genocidal war that global imperialism – across the United States, Israel and all NATO members and partners – is leading against them. For example, it is not Russia that attacks Ukraine, but the United States, Israel and NATO, in order to attack Russia through Ukraine.

With immense global campaigns of lies to demonize Russia and its allies, global imperialism actively seeks to exacerbate the differences between anti-war movements that are more or less inclined to defend workers’ states and revolutionary states.

For the formation of a solid International Network capable of influencing the working class and its allies, it is essential that historical facts be highlighted in order to identify the capitalist system as the source of all war.

American imperialism, led by Donald Trump and in alliance with the genocidal Netanyahu, launched a new war against Iran, causing hundreds of civilian deaths, including 148 girls from a primary school in the city of Minab, and assassinated Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei as well as senior government officials, army command and Revolutionary Guards.

With this war and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, imperialism tried to subdue Iran and, at the same time, to control the entire region, its natural resources and its oil, in order to undermine the development of China, which is calling into question its control of the world economy and is one of its main enemies, just like Russia.

After months of economic and military blockade, years of sanctions, as well as the seizure and destruction of fishing boats under the pretext of drug trafficking, the Trump administration launched the kidnapping of the President of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, Nicolás Maduro, and the First Lady, MP Cilia Flores. This action constitutes an act of military interference and a coup against a sovereign country, resulting in the death of Cuban and Venezuelan soldiers from the president’s personal custody, who gave their lives to prevent kidnapping and invasion.

This military attack is based on a disinformation campaign based on unproven accusations of the Venezuelan government’s involvement in drug trafficking. The objective of the invasion project was to bring about a change of government that would facilitate the control, extraction and use of Venezuela’s huge oil reserves and other strategic natural resources.

The vast majority of the world is witnessing the delusional race of all NATO member and associated states, which plan to devastate countries and exterminate populations to maintain their imperialist hegemony. Ordinary citizens are outraged and furious at the Israeli genocide in Palestine and beyond, as well as the impunity with which it continues. They denounce the leading role played by our own Western governments in this genocide. They protest against the illegal act of the British state that arrested about 3,180 supporters of Action Palestine under cowardly laws that turn peaceful people into criminal terrorists, depriving them of their rights.

Mobilization in Genoa, Italy in support of Palestine on September 1, 2025

In many countries, the organization « Syndicalists for Palestine » coordinates workers’ mobilization campaigns to demand respect for the ceasefire in Palestine, support the boycott of illegal settlements and suspend the arms trade. This conference offers the opportunity to further integrate anti-war campaigns into the unions to force—for example—the TUC (England), the STUC (Scotland) and the Irish Congress to implement their decisions in favour of the Palestinians and the international BDS movement (boycott, disinvestment, sanctions).

In Cuba, the United States described what they call « the Cuban communist government » as a « threat to American national security ». The Trump administration openly describes its blockade and sanctions as « instruments to overthrow the communist regime and promote a democratic transition in Cuba ».

The war waged by the United States and Israel against Iran is part of the third world war that world imperialism has already initiated, with the aim of preserving its domination, by subjugating, killing, letting millions of people die around the world.

The world’s forefront of the current anti-imperialist struggle resides in Palestine, Lebanon, Iran, Yemen, Venezuela, Cuba, North Korea, Russia and China, as well as in countries fighting imperialism in Africa, Latin America, Vietnam and elsewhere. Capitalism invents any lie to accuse Russia of wanting to invade Poland, the Baltic States, Europe and the United Kingdom. To believe this is to ignore that Russia’s global role has nothing to do with the usurious, exploiting and murderous role of imperialism.

Far from being imperialist, Russia supports anti-imperialist struggles. She confronts NATO and global capitalism in Ukraine. On June 4, the International Economic Forum in St. Petersburg presented proposals for 55 bilateral cooperation projects between Russia and Cuba, totalling about $4 billion. Russia’s interests push it to care about people. This is not the characteristic of imperialism. It is incorrect to place Russia in the same category as imperialist countries – the United States and NATO countries.

Who are the imperialists?

Some pacifist comrades demand that Russia return to Ukraine the areas they describe as « occupied territories ». They believe that Ukraine has separated from the Russian Federation to establish itself in the world as an independent and « free » country. But this was achieved in Ukraine by the privatization of a large part of the public economic sector and the entry of the country into the global market economy, which now dominates the country and has almost annulled its national sovereignty.

The dissolution of the USSR in 1991-1992 was not due to any particular Soviet crisis. It took place because the most bureaucratic sectors of the CPSU leadership had decided to allow the entry of the market economy and private property into the USSR, because it would enrich them individually beyond their wildest dreams. That this turned them into despised minions of Western imperialism is another story.

The Russian Federation has no imperialist roots. The 1991 split between the Russian Federation and Ukraine was not due to any imperialist despotism on the part of the USSR. The split occurred when major world banks bought back the agricultural land of Ukraine. They channelled national wealth to a few corrupt oligarchs. Ukraine is now a stronghold of the imperialist world war occupied by the IMF and the World Bank.

Today’s Ukraine is governed by NATO and the military leaders of 30 Western countries organized in a vast international coalition that controls its armed forces. The Ukrainian conflict has become the world war we are currently experiencing: the war of global imperialism against Russia, as well as against China, Cuba and their allies.

To confuse and divide anti-war movements, capitalist governments present Russia as the colonial power of Ukraine. They conceal or minimise the role of NATO as a real aggressor against Russia in Ukraine, leading us to think that Russia is imperialist and that NATO is « only a defensive alliance ».

There is no fight « against war »
without the fight to advance the power of the workers

As the organizers of the conference pointed out, it is through war (and more precisely the war against Russia and China) that the imperialists plan to create what they call « economic growth ».

They shamelessly declare that they seek « economic progress » and « creation of quality jobs » through their war against Russia. Focused on « defence », imperialism demands this war, without which it admits that there will be no growth. It’s very much like a dying regime struggling to survive.

The meeting in London on June 7 between Starmer, Macron, Mertz and Zelensky aimed to integrate Ukraine into the European Union. This initiative is part of the NATO war in European countries to attack Russia, plunder its resources and try to save capitalist hegemony. Beyond that, the imperialists want to curb the growing global authority of Russia, China and other similar countries. Because despite the limits of their leadership, Russia and China support « communism » in Cuba in the same way they support Venezuela and other countries fighting against imperialism.

It is against communism that the imperialists are preparing for the world war. Their weakness is manifested by the fact that, for this, they must resort to collaboration with Zelensky and make increasing use of his Banderist fascism. On this point, they all agree with Trump.

An open debate is needed
between all trade unions and anti-war organisations

European NATO countries are expanding their armed forces internationally. The way in which they seek to reintroduce compulsory military service raises concerns among all organizations that defend past social achievements, which were made possible by the great struggles of the years after the Second World War, including national health systems, public education, pensions and housing construction programs.

On June 14, the European coalition « Stop Rearm Europe » joined forces with the Belgian platform « Stop Militarisation ». Thousands of people demonstrated in Brussels to demand this unification on a large scale. Similarly, the strikes and mass protests by German students against the restoration of compulsory military service reflect a high level of anti-war indignation among the entire population.

This shows that there is a lot of room for the development of an international anti-war network, in order to integrate all organized movements within the EU, such as the « Stop Militarisation » and « Stop Rearm Europe » platforms.

The Posadists – London 28.5.2026

Feature Photo: The mobilization of international workers and dockers on strike in the city of Ancona in Italy on February 2, 2026
More details here:
https://peoplesdispatch.org/2026/02/06/mediterranean-dockworkers-launch-historic-international-strike/
https://www.business-humanrights.org/en/latest-news/europe-mediterranean-dockworkers-launch-historic-international-strike-against-war-militarisation-and-port-privatisation/
https://socialistworker.co.uk/international/italy-strike/