For the second-and-third time in as many days, 70-year-old Russian President Vladimir Putin says he wants to negotiate and end to the Ukraine War, meeting the same negative response from Kiev and Washington. U.N. peacekeepers, especially 44-year-old French President Emmanuel Macron, should start the wheels of peace turning against objections especially from 44-year-old Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. Zelensky has set impossible conditions for peace talks, demanding that all Russian forces leave Ukraine. Russian forces were in Donetsk, Luhansk and Crimea before the Feb. 24 invasion and they’ll be there most likely after any ceasefire or peace talks. Zelensky receives most of his aid from the U.S. and should not decide unilaterally whether the war goes on indefinitely. U.N. peacekeepers must take Putin’s words seriously and pave the way for peace.
Kiev’s bankrupt government receive billions in aid from the U.S., showing no interest in ending the conflict, despite complaining about war crimes and destruction of Ukraine’s infrastructure. Every day the war goes on, Ukraine loses more vital infrastructure, including electricity, water and heat. Yet Zelensky’s in the mindset that he’s to battle the Russian Federation until Putin quits, leaves Ukraine and Zelensky can declare victory over the Kremlin. Zelensky’s thinking is purely in revenge mode, not realizing the Kiev government is far better off letting U.N. peacemakers begin the process of working on ceasefire and final settlement. Zelensky demands that Russia leave every inch of Ukrainian territory, a nice rallying cry for the war effort but not realistic for a ceasefire and peace talks. Ending the war should be both sides highest priority, not continuing the fight.
Zelensky has much to lose in a peace settlement, especially the billions in U.S. government largess and military aid Kiev receives now. Zelensky isn’t sure how Ukraine’s supposed to rebuild its war-ravaged country, demanding the Kremlin pays all damages inflicted from the start of the war. Yet Zelensky knows that the U.S. will continue to provide a kind of Marshal Plan, used after WW II to rebuild Germany and other parts of war-torn Europe. “We are ready to negotiate with everyone involved about acceptable solutions but that is up to them—we are not the ones refusing to negotiate, they are,” Putin said on state TV. Kiev and Washington want to negotiate but only if Russia removes all its troops from sovereign Ukrainian territory. How’s that supposed to work when Russia controls parts of the Peoples Republics of Donetsk, Luhansk and the Crimean Peninsula.
Putin seized Crimea in 2014 after a CIA-backed coup toppled the Kremlin-backed government of Viktor Yanukovych. Putin hosted the Sochi Winter Olympics when a CIA-backed coup chased Yanukovych out of Kiev, threatening the Russian naval base. In a future peace negotiation, it’s possible for Kiev to negotiate a long-term lease to Russia for use of the Sevastopol naval base. Whatever the peace scenarios, Zelensky doesn’t have to accept all-out war as his only option to find an acceptable peace plan. U.S. officials, including 66-year-old career-diplomat CIA Director William Burns, have shown no interest in peace talks unless Putin meet’s Zelensky’s demands to remove all Russia troops from Ukraine, return all sovereign territory and repay Ukraine for the damage in a 10-month-old war. Every day that goes by, Ukraine loses more vital infrastructure to Russian bombardments.
Kiev officials, led by Zelensky and his 40-year-old Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba, want no compromises or concessions with Moscow. With U.S. government largess, both think they can fight the war indefinitely until they force Russia to remove all troops from Kiev. Zelensky and Kuleba have 80-year-old President Joe Biden’s blessing at the moment but at some point must get real about many things. U.S. government is not going to underwrite the Ukraine War indefinitely. Opposition in Congress grows by the day to the idea that the U.S. Treasury gives Kiev a blank check to keep fighting the Kremlin indefinitely. “Russia single-handedly attacked Ukraine and is killings citizens,” Mykhailo Podolyak tweetd. “Russia doesn’t want negotiations, but tries to avoid responsibility,” said Podollyak, close adviser to Zelensky, showing the Kiev government wants no part of peace talks.
Zelensky’s Dec. 21 speech to a joint session of Congress asked for more cash-and-arms but said nothing about any concrete peace efforts. Until U.N. peacemakers put pressure on Biden and Biden has a heart-to-heart talk with Zelensky about a ceasefire and peace talks, nothing’s going to get done. Sending Patriot Missiles to Kiev isn’t going to resolve the war one way or another. Putin expressed interest in negotiations an opening in a long process to satisfy both sides in the conflict. Biden once said that the war must go on to give Kiev a better bargaining position in eventual peace talks. Putin doesn’t think the West wants peace but to attack the Russian Federation. “Actually, the fundamental thing here is a policy of our geopolitical opponents which is aimed a pulling apart Russia, historical Russia,” Putin said, explaining why Kiev or Washington doesn’t wants ceasefire and peace talks.
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.
