Kept under wraps like a nuclear secret, the Biden administration has asked Ukraine to reconsider its position of negotiating a ceasefire and peace talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Reported by the Washington Post, it clearly shows the pressure 79-year-old President Joe Biden faces from U.N.,European Union and others. Biden hasn’t realized the destabilizing effect of the Ukraine War on world markets, driving the runaway inflation and adverse economic fallout. With all of Biden and Ukraine’s 44-yeaar-old President Volodomyr Zelensky’s tough talk about breaking the Russian Federation, the EU doesn’t like the instability of the U.S. and Ukraine trying to topple the Russian Federation.. No one in the EU or NATO signed up to back Ukraine while trying to topple Putin. EU and NATO leaders want the conflict resolved at the peace table as soon as possible.
All the talk of Putin using nuclear weapons if he’s backed into a corner raised the stakes, forcing Brussels to realize that the Ukraine War, no matter how they oppose Putin’s invasion, needs to move off the battlefield to the peace table. Zelensky’s statement that he’d never negotiate an end to the war unless Putin leaves office was condemned by almost everyone. Yet Biden tried to keep the movement, even with liberals in the Democrat Party, to end the war secret. Zelensky has lost some 25% of Ukraine’s sovereign territory over the last eight months of war with the Russian Federation. No one told Zelensky he had to battle the Russian Federation. He was given a way out of the conflict by Putin in March, telling the young leader he needed to cede Crimea to Russia and recognize the independence of Donetsk and Luhansk. Zelensky had no control of Crimea, Donetsk or Luhansk before Feb. 24 war.
White House officials insist that they don’t want to tell Kiev what to do with the war. They only want Ukraine to maintain support of other nations knowing the war could go on for years, continuing to wreak havoc on the EU economy. Worth only 99 cents today, the Euro’s value has dropped by 30% because of the war. Zelensky likes to talk about Ukraine’s interest in the EU and NATO but he refuses to admit the damage the war does to the EU economy. Biden officials said they’ll support Ukraine as long as it takes but know the pressure on the White House to start wrapping up the war. Biden’s on the verge of losing the House and Senate to Republicans on the Nov. 8 Miderm elections, largely because voters realized he’s mismanaged the economy and U.S. foreign policy. If both House of Congress are lost to Republicans Nov. 8, pressure will mount to end the Ukraine War.
No one believes White House propaganda that Ukraine has a blank check from the U.S. Most voters don’t know the Kiev government is bankrupt, getting all its funding from U.S. taxpayers. Biden has given the Kiev government over $70 billion, a staggering figure that takes valuable tax dollars out of circulation. EU, Africa, Asia and Latin America want to see the war end at earliest possible time. Zelensky’s statement that Putin must be gone before he’d consider negotiating for peace rattled many countries initially backing the allied effort in Ukraine. But as the war dragged on, economic markets all over the globe have been hurt by the war. “Ukraine fatigue is a real thing for some of our partners,” said an unnamed U.S. official. White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan had no comment whether the report was real but didn’t refute the premise that allies want the war over.
Zelensky who receives 100% U.S. financing for his government and the war can’t be the one who makes the decision about peace. Putin has not relented in his war effort, letting Kiev, Washington and the EU know that if they want peace, Zelensky must get realistic. It’s unrealistic for Zelensky, who commands a bankrupt government and has lost some 25% of Ukraine’s sovereign territory, to make rational decisions. Telling the people nightly in video addresses that they will keep fighting Russia until they get every inch of Ukraine’s sovereign territory back is pure fantasy. Ukraine’s population doesn’t understand that Zelensky, as commander in chief, has badly botched the war effort. He could have negotiated a peace deal with Putin early on sparing Ukraine the loss of more sovereign territory but, more importantly, the carnage and destruction to the Ukraine economy.
Brussels, NATO, African Union, Asia and Latin American need to keep the pressure on the White House.to move the Ukraine War from the battlefield to the peace table. Zelensky, if he plays his cards right, could get back most of the lost territory, with the exception of Crimea, Donetsk and Luhansk, territory he didn’t have before the war started Feb. 24. “We are ready for peace, for a fair and just peace, the formula of which we have voiced many times,” Zelensky said. Zelensky’s idea of peace is that all Russian troops leave Ukraine, including Crimea, Donetsk and Luhansk. Putin isn’t likely to capitulate to Zelensky’s demands but he would most likely return all of Ukraine’s Black Sea ports lost during eight months of war. Zelensky can’t enter peace talks making unrealistic demands. Ending the war is the most important event for Kiev, the U.S. and EU, not whether Zelensky saves face.
About the Author
John M. Curtis writes politically neutral commentary analyzing spin in national and global news. He’s editor of OnlineColumnist.com and author of Dodging The Bullet and Operation Charisma.
