Western media sources documented Ukraine and Russia peace proposals during the first weeks of the conflict in February 2022. Reuters noted, “Ukraine wants peace and is ready for talks with Russia, including on neutral status regarding NATO, Ukrainian presidential advisor Mykhailo Podolyak told Reuters. … ‘If talks are possible, they should be held. If Moscow … want[s] to hold talks, including on neutral status, we are not afraid of this. … Our readiness for dialogue is part of our persistent pursuit of peace.’”
Reuters printed a follow-up 14 hours later: “The Russian and Ukrainian governments … signaled an openness to negotiations even as authorities in Kyiv urged citizens to help defend the capital from advancing Russian forces. … Ukraine and Russia will consult in the coming hours on a time and place for talks.” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s spokesman said, “Ukraine was and remains ready to talk about a ceasefire and peace. … We agreed to the proposal of the President of the Russian Federation.” But as Reuters went on to note, “U.S. State Department spokesman Ned Price said Russia’s offer was an attempt to conduct diplomacy ‘at the barrel of a gun,’ and that President Vladimir Putin’s military must stop bombing Ukraine if it was serious about negotiations.”
In Foreign Affairs, Fiona Hill and Angela Stent wrote: “According to multiple former senior U.S. officials we spoke with, in April 2022, Russian and Ukrainian negotiators appeared to have tentatively agreed on the outlines of a negotiated interim settlement: Russia would withdraw to its position on February 23, when it controlled part of the Donbas region and all of Crimea, and … Ukraine would promise not to seek NATO membership and instead receive security guarantees from a number of countries.” [Read the rest here....]
What led up to this crisis? Who stands to gain from war in Ukraine? And why is this dominated by the ghost of John McCain?
ReplyDeleteWe stand w/them in their fight against #Putin's aggression," McCain wrote in one tweet.
Why was the steady stream of neo-conservatives – Democrat and Republican alike – running in and out of Ukraine for the past ten years........
Dec 14, 2013 · U.S. Senator John McCain (R) reacts as Ukrainian opposition leader Vitaly Klitschko (C) looks on, during their meeting in Kiev December 14, 2013
‘"The destiny you seek lies in Europe," McCain told the crowd, to rapturous applause. "People of Ukraine, this is your moment. The free world is with you, America is with you, I am with you."
McCain was joined by a Democratic senator Chris Murphy, who told the crowds they were making history. "If you are successful, the US Senate will stand with you all the way," he said, in comments likely to infuriate Moscow, which has accused Brussels and the west of interfering in Ukrainian politics.
Sep 5, 2014 · On his latest visit to Kyiv US Senator John McCain has reassured Ukraine of US support. With Ukrainian forces still battling Russian troops…..
Kyiv Renames Street in Honor of Late US Senator McCain.
Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko greets Cindy McCain at the Presidential Palace in Kyiv, Ukraine, April 1, 2019.
Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko praised McCain, who was a frequent visitor to the country, as "a great friend and advocate of Ukraine."
Mar 24, 2022 · Members of the Armed Services Committee visit Ukraine to promise them that their fight is "our fight" a month before Trump is inaugurated...
The man who is most responsible for the $95 billion giveaway to Ukraine and Israel, is the same guy who pretends to oppose America’s “wasteful” foreign wars. Donald Trump. It was Trump who consulted with Speaker Mike Johnson about the contents of the Ukraine aid package, just as it was Trump who concocted the idea of issuing loans instead of dispersing the standard welfare handout. It was also Trump who said:
“I stand with the Speaker, (Mike Johnson)” after which he added that Johnson is doing “a very good job.”