lOS ANGELES.–Inaugurated today for this fifth term, 71-year-old Russian President Vladimir Putin signaled to the U.S. and Western Alliance that he will continue to defend the motherland, despite attempts to weaken the Russian economy and military. President Joe Biden, 81, has been locked in an intractable proxy war in Ukraine with the Kremlin, refusing, together with 46-year-old Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, to move the conflict from the battlefield to the peace table. Biden and Zelensky have rejected all peace proposals involving any kind of negotiation and compromise with the Kremlin. Zelensky’s peace plan requires Putin to face criminal charges at The Hague’s International Criminal Court [ICC], pay Kiev reparations and remove all Russian troops from Ukraine. Only Biden and Zelensky think that their peace plan would gain any traction.
Putin proudly accepted his new six-year term as Russian president, vowing to protect-and-defend Russia against domestic and foreign threats. Western governments backed the revolutionary activities of the late dissident Alexi Navalny in whom the West placed all their hopes for an eventual Russian revolution. Navalny died in an Arctic Circle K-3 penal colony of unknown causes, dashing the hopes of pro-democracy voices in Russia and in the West. “We are united and great people and together we will overcome all obstacles, realize all our plans. Together we will win,” Putin told the Kremlin audience in a grand hall filled with dignitaries and celebrities. Putin has been locked in a pitched battle with the United State and the Western Alliance since invading Ukraine Feb. 24, 2022 in what he calls a “special military operation” designed to demilitarize the Kiev government.
When Putin talks of overcoming adversity from the West, he’s referring to the most punitive sanctions in human history, with Biden implementing a Russian oil embargo on all Western countries. Putin has adroitly adapted by making up lost oil and natural gas revenue with increased sales to China, India, Brazil and South Africa. Only recently, Ukraine’s Chief of Military Intelligence Kyrylo Budanov, said Putin’s military was near collapse and Putin , himself, suffered from a undisclosed terminal illness. Budanov has become Ukraine’s Baghdad Bob, who often made outrageous statements about Saddam Hussein resisting the 2023 U.S. invasion of Iraq. Putin looked vigorous and in charge as always at his fifth inauguration as Russia’s leader, becoming the longest serving leader since Josef Stalin. Putin makes Budanov’s words look foolish.
Italy’s Defense Secretary Guido Crosetto called on Ukraine to call a truce with Russia, stating that the war endangered Europe, not achieving its objective of defeating the Kremlin. “I want to bow to our heroes, participants in the special military operation, everyone who is fighting for the motherland,” Putin said, referring to Ukraine. Biden and Zelensky have refused any attempts at peacemaking, insisting that Putin must be charged in The Hague’s International Criminal Court, pay reparations and remove all troops from Ukraine. Since that won’t happen, the war continues to rage with Ukraine losing more sovereign land with Russian troop more dug into Ukraine that ever. Yet if you ask Biden and Zelensky, Russia is on the verge of defeat, only requiring more advanced weapons to beat back the Russian assault. Putin made clear he’s ready for peace talks but not for surrender.
Putin wants the U.S. and EU to come to their senses about arming Ukraine for the purpose of battling the Kremlin. “The choice is theirs. Do they intend to continue trying to restrain the development of Russia, continue the policy of aggression, continuous pressure on our country for years, or look for a path to cooperation and peace,” Putin said, clearly showing that he’s open to a peace process to end the conflict. Putin told former Fox News journalist Tucker Carlson Feb. 8 that he was amenable to ceasefire and peace talks as long as they respected the Russian position of dealing with more Western encroachment. Putin sees his battle not with Ukraine but with the United States, involved in a global effort to harm the Russian Federation economically and politically. Biden has said his Ukraine War is designed to neutralize the Russian military to the point it can no longer wage war.
Today’s inauguration shows that Putin is very much in charge of the Kremlin, with no signs of dissent or undercurrent of revolution suggested by Budavov and other Western officials. Visitors listening to Putin saw a leader very much in charge of the Russian government. If Biden and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen want to improve relations with the Kremlin, they need to show interest in moving the Ukraine conflict to the peace table. Giving Ukraine $60 billion assures that the war goes on indefinitely, serving no one other than the bankrupt Kiev government. Zelensky wants no part of any peace process because he’s afraid of losing U.S. government largess. EU officials must convince Biden and Zelensky that it’s in everyone’s interest to move the Ukraine War to the peace table for negotiation and compromise, the only path to peace.
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.
