US-hosted Summit for Democracy aims for confrontation: expert

ZAGREB - The second Summit for Democracy, hosted by the United States, is aiming not for democracy but confrontation with countries like Russia as its opponent and China as its competitor, said Davor Gjenero, a Croatian political analyst.

Through the so-called Summit for Democracy, set for March 29-30, the United States, according to its "American democracy" standard, attempts to divide the world into "democratic" and "non-democratic" countries.

By selectively inviting "democratic" countries to attend the summit, the United States aims to establish a bloc or camp, led by the United States, to isolate and confront countries that it regards as enemies, opponents and competitors, Gjenero said in a recent interview with Xinhua.

Therefore, such a summit is not for promoting democracy but for provoking confrontation and that is "a defeat for democracy," Gjenero noted.

The reason behind this is that the Cold War mentality, present in the U.S.-led West, is still at work, in addition to strategic and economic competitions, Gjenero noted.

He said that the so-called "American democracy" standard is not the only standard for democracy and can not be applied everywhere and it is not up to the United States to judge whether one country is democratic or not.

Moreover, Gjenoro pointed out that the "American democracy" has been experiencing a crisis, as serious social problems, including social division, racial conflicts, political polarization, and a widening gap between the rich and poor, have been plaguing the United States.

"Every country in the world is specific, every country has its own history, customs and traditions. So every country has the right to its own path of democratic development, and no country can have a monopoly on that," Gjenero said.

Gjenero said he believes that China has been following its own path of democratic development according to its own national conditions.

While China's economic development has attracted worldwide attention, and the same is true in terms of its democratic development, although the United States and some Western countries have turned a blind eye or simply refuse to admit it, Gjenero added.