On Friday, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the US was ready to do what’s necessary to end the fighting in Ukraine, but that doesn’t appear to apply to high-level diplomacy.
The Pentagon said Friday that top US military leaders haven’t spoken with their Russian counterparts since Russia’s attack on Ukraine began.
Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said neither Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin nor Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley have spoken with Russian military officials. “I’m not aware of any other senior leaders here at the Department of Defense,” he said.
In recent days, the US and Russian militaries set up a deconfliction line to held avoid miscalculations that could lead to wider escalations. But Kirby said the line is at the “lower operational level.”
When the Russian attack on Ukraine first happened, President Biden said he had “no plans” to speak with Russian President Vladimir Putin, which the White House reaffirmed on Thursday.
“We’re not planning a meeting between them or an engagement or a call. The President’s been very, very clear about that. But we’ll have those discussions internally and weigh the range of factors,” White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said.
In the months leading up to the invasion, the US and Russia were engaged in intense negotiations. But even then, Biden didn’t give diplomacy much of a chance. Russia made it clear that its main concerns were over NATO expansion and asked for a guarantee from the US that Ukraine won’t ever join the military alliance. Even though Biden said it was “not very likely” Ukraine would become a NATO member anytime soon, he refused to make the promise to Russia.
I really don’t we really gave diplomacy a chance at all. The negotiations began and ended with US at 0 and Russia at 100. We never brought NATO membership on the table even though that was what Russians wanted. So many lives wasted over such a trivial thing like NATO membership…
Not a mention of peace talks in the “state of the nation” speech. The USA goaded Russia into its eventual operation to cleanse Ukraine of Nazis,which the USA and NATO and of course all the media claimed was ridiculous. The Azov battalions are proud of their behavior and do not at all deny their Nazi connections. Details are available now on “the Grayzone” from Max Blumenthal for all to see.
Kudos to the Grayzone. Unlike Jimmy Dore and Greenwald, they’ve been tracking the neo-Nazi influence in Ukraine for some time. Just got another of Aaron Mate’s Substack emails this morning.
richard , is this article from the grayzone widely distributed, or only on the sites like this for those already convinced?
Us officials not meeting is not the issue, the issue is they r probably stopping Ukrainians coming to an arrangement with Russia
Yup – the War Party wants to fight the Russians to the very last Ukrainian
Biden could have been the president he thinks he is by sitting down with Zelensky and Putin to figure things out. That is statesmanship, which, it would appear, Biden lacks.
No us president will do that. It doesn’t work with the doctrine of hegemony and unipolar world order.
The US does not want the war to end—-yet.
The goal is to have it drag on for as long as possible to damage Russia; Ukrainian and Russian civilian deaths are just the cost of achieving that aim.
Plus, the production lines are humming. The last number was 10 billion but I’m sure that will balloon.
The conflict could be stopped and could have been avoided by signing a document. But Biden is one of the players who started the ball rolling in 2014. So Im not sure Biden really wants to end the conflict.
Additionally, the conflict has resulted in the elimination of Nordstream 2, and the revival of NATO by reviving the bogeyman. NATO has had to depend on Yugoslavia, Iraq, Libya and Afghanistan to justify its existence. That was coming to an end and NATO was beginning to set its sights on China. This conflict, the mother of all conflicts, will keep NATO glued together for years to come. The loss of life is secondary.
As a secondary benefit, Europe will now depend on US LNG instead of Russia. Perfect business!
Washington already signed the relevant documents when they signed on to UNSC 2202.
Washington simply then refused to help implement 2202 which is the basis for peace in the region
In another article in antiwar this morning, we had been arming Ukraine to the teeth before the Russian invasion. I voted for Biden, but he is a failure. To prevent all of this he could have met Zelensky and Putin at a neutral site and figure it out.I didn’t happen because Biden was/is playing the same GD game of risk that had been played since 1991. And now, Kamara is on a mission to Poland. Poland? To do what, set it up that there is another flank against Russia?
Correct in your last sentence. Poland is the new center of war against Russia, now that Putin has taken Ukraine off the board. It’s where the US “mercenary army” will be run from. The US is probably hoping Putin will attack Poland. Well, he might as a result of their provocations. The problem for them is that, short of going nuclear, there won’t be anything they can do about that, either. This is more evidence they want to start a war between NATO and Russia. If they want it, they’ll get it. Russia is not going to back down until there is either a new security architecture in Europe – or there is no more NATO. One way or the other.
Am I venturing too far out of bounds by implying how highly cynical you are???
Not cynical enough, probably.
And the additional costs of transporting LNG to Europe will be subsidized by the American taxpayers. Count on it. That’s why Olav Schitz finally agreed to kill Nordstream II.
Was that a deliberate misspelling? Brilliant.
“Europe will now depend on US LNG instead of Russia. Perfect business!”
This is a puzzle for me. Is Germany — not to mention the rest of Europe — really going to allow itself to be sacrificed for the self-evidently dying “Empire of Lies”? Meanwhile, US LNG can’t begin arriving in the needed quantity in anywhere near the time frame to satisfy German demand.
Will they relight their nuclear power plants? Can they?
Something in German domestic politics is going to have to give.
Greens would have to fall out of favour.
They seem to be leading the charge against carbon fuels and are the ‘kingmakers’ in the present coalition.
The carbon footprint will be a lot larger sending LNG from North America to Europe, but they think there is no energy deficit that can’t be solved with non-carbon alternatives and ordinary people living more like peasants.
The “Greens” seem to be the neocons of Germany. What’s most disturbing is their plans seem to be on track. See this writing from May 2021: http://shiftingwealth.blogspot.com/2021/05/germanys-green-neocons.html
Thanks, that was interesting.
The German Greens have both a Nazi past and Globalist Socialist (WEF) present.
https://oldmanoftheski.com/2017/11/30/the-nazi-roots-of-the-environmental-movement/
http://www.williamengdahl.com/englishNEO16Feb2022.php
Biden could have won the world by being a peace maker. Before the chaos. He could have met with Zelensky and Putin at a neutral site to hammer out an agreement. But no, he decides to become the war president, while sacrificing Ukraine. By the way, what gave him the right to steal money that belongs to Afghan citizens (merchants and ordinary citizens)? There talk of him having Iranian tankers intercepted, oil confiscated (again), sold, with the money going to families of 9/11 victims. Biden is a failure of major proportions. (And I voted for him. )
As did I, and I hang my head in shame.
I disliked him but voted for Anyone But Trump.
Never again will I sacrifice my ideals for voting for a member of the duopoly.
Of course the US is not trying diplomacy. Refusing diplomacy is how it provoked Biden’s War.
Biden’s War is going badly on the ground. Once it is lost in reality, then the hype in the Western media will dry up, and people will turn away in disgust from the Western propaganda.
The 2022 Election will be a blow out as voters punish Biden’s War, and after such an extreme defeat even the Democrats will blame Biden and Biden’s War. This will be infamous before Biden is done.
Exactly. Not to mention the resulting recession once the oil price climbs over $120/barrel. The CIA and the neocons have managed to execute the collective suicide of the US and EU in pursuit of their rabid Russophobia. I couldn’t be happier.
“I couldn’t be happier.”
Why? You like being miserable?
I don’t own a car, don’t eat much As long as the electricity stays on so I have Internet and can cook, and the water stays on so I’m hydrated and can flush a toilet, I’m fine.
I grow and put up all my own fruits and vegetables and have a very rideable horse.
Same here, minus the car part. But my assumption is that if America goes down the toilet those things won’t be available to everyone. You’re describing how millions already live, me included.
There is much to be said for “having nothing to lose.”
I read yesterday (cannot remember where) that we were importing 20,000,000 barrels of oil per year from Russia.
Whatever it is Hillary’s twin witch Pelosi screamed “ban it”. Nanc doesn’t have to worry about $5 for a gallon a gas being the multimillionaire that she is. Today we’re all Nazis.
Not me, I’m an anarchist. Anyone who votes is a Nazi because voting is trying to impose your opinion on those who don’t vote the way you do. Majority rule – rule of any kind – is being a Nazi.
When I do vote I always write in “none” instead of voting for any candidate. I vote no on anything asking for funding. I did vote yes to legalize recreational pot.
But I always tell my progressive friends that I voted for the Republican candidate, even though I didn’t. It makes things much more entertaining.
Most of the time I just don’t vote. For the reasons you stated.
Well done, including annoying your progressive friends.
Johnny, we desperately need a viable third party.
Please consider voting Green, Socialist or heck even Libertarian; anything but D or R, which you’re already refraining from.
My comment wasn’t about anarchism. I don’t know why it elicited your comment. “Today we’re all Nazi’s” was mocking McCain’s idiotic comment. Pelosi is seemingly following the dead war failure’s mindset and is more concerned about the Nazi’s running Ukraine than she is about the American people who will suffer because of energy costs skyrocketing.
Regular unleaded is going for almost $5.50 per gallon at the stations near me. Diesel is $6.00.
George Takei thinks just like Pelosi. Idiot.
https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/george-takei-plea-americans-endure-011822881.html?fr=sycsrp_catchall
Gosh, Takei is really out of touch.
But then, he’s made his money.
Classic Trek had some strong ideals, but devolved into a kind of US NATO in space.
This war is a catastrophe for the human race. Why does that make you happy?
Russia has become an international pariah bogged down in a long term strategic quagmire – without NATO committing a single soldier. The Sino-Russian concord that was the hope of the anti-imperialist movement has become endangered. I wish this war was not happening.
It is a curious non-statement. We need results not theiir bureacratic deliberations.
And you are right. Mire than running away in disguist, there are scathing analyses all over the globe and frim highly reputable sources. Such as retired Indian diolomat, Bhadrakumar. Well worth reading his articles on Indian Punchline.
I have tried going over Asia, Africa and Latin America. — to determine just how nany countries are actually implementing any sanctions on Russia. While US can point to the UN General
Assembly vote, this non-buding resolution was a throwswsy vote. When it comes to sanctions, only US close allies or tmritish colonies are convinced. In Asia, for example, only US allies Japan and Korea are implementing sanctions, as well as Singapore. As for majority Moslem countries, Asian or Middle East, none is to found. Meaning that large cciuntries like Pakistan, Indinesia, Turkey and Egyot are not poarticipating. No countries iin Africa that I can tell, and did not see any Latin American. Publicly. Mexico, Brazil, Argentina and Panama. US is so angry with India, thst US is threatening sanction against India!
The problen remains is US credibility.. add to that the sheer volume of news that are either few years old or are distractiin. Such as the fire iin muckear power plant thst wasvset in as administrative building. Which did not rise to level of security council medting — but iwill.
And the circus gioes on.
L
https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/evacuation-ceasefires-break-down-russian-shelling-resumes-key-port-cities
With US and European going the nuclear route re sanctions on Russian banks, businesses, oligarchs, and lesser financially-endowed Russians, a question of tolerance arises.
Americans have been spoiled by a printing press a military conflicts having avoided their shores. They’re not particularly adept at other nation’s history.
Russia lost 27 million souls during WW II and nearly 7 million during the US- sponsored plunder during the late 90s and early 2000s.
Viewed through those current and past lenses, Russia Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov’s recent comments about nuclear war are quite logical and probably without much emotion toward the West.
Americans may not be too concerned about other nations but very concerned about their own lives.
Biden would have been elected to appease the progressives in return for a return to normal. Instead, Americans got a continuation of the social civil war and a leftist agenda moved further mainstream from the fringe.
Furthermore, its possible not many had faith in the Democrats in this bargain, and the Presidential election may have been cheated.
Since then, a very backhanded end to the Afghan war, no Build Back Better, no endless rivers of COVID-pretexted bailout money to Blue states, no end to the pandemic, and a negligent foreign policy that ‘allowed’ Russia to invade Ukraine.
The midterms should result in a very messy Democrat rout unless the GOP does something to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory.
The midterms should result in a very messy Democrat rout unless the GOP does something to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory.”
I don’t see much difference between the Dems and the Repubs. Voting is a waste of time. With warmongers like Tom Cotton, Lindsey Graham, Mitt Romney, Marco Rubio, and most all Republicans, why give them the power?
Democracy isn’t about getting everything you want, but moving things incrementally better.
Trump delivered no new wars; that little thing was a big deal.
Trump ‘did nothing’ during COVID; this was not a bad thing insofar at least liberty minded states could reject COVID-1984 with a little less behind the scenes Federal pressure.
Biden delivered the Ukraine War and a backhanded exit from Afghanistan, while qualitatively turning the heat on all the other wars.
Elections do matter in subtle ways.
“Trump ‘did nothing’ during COVID”
Well, other than international travel bans, invoking war communism “more than 30 times” to seize the means of production for ventilators, etc., confiscating PPE, shelling out big taxpayer bucks for development of vaccines that many of his supporters consider suspect, mailing out trillions in individual and corporate welfare checks …
But yeah, other than that stuff, he did nothing.
‘did nothing’ was in quotation marks for a reason… if he really did nothing, everyone would have been better off.
Trump’s own supporters consider the ‘clot shots’ far more than suspect.
The most obvious problem is the vax is supposed to be intramuscular, and far more dangerous if accidentally intravenously injected.
Trump was the last person one would expect to stand up against a moral panic, though.
Since Biden made it clear that the US and NATO will not enforce a no fly zone because they don’t want a direct conflict with Russia, what’s to stop Putin from continuing his march into, say, Moldova. I predict they’re next on his list.
Biden certainly hopes so.
The US needs high level diplomats to be able to engage in high level diplomacy. Something they are horribly lacking.
I understand that the Americans wanted the negotiations with Russia to be kept confidential. I can’t understand why Russia agreed to that. Putin should immediately release the tapes and transcripts of all the negotiations for the world to see. I think most of the world’s wars were due to deliberately botched diplomacy.
“Even though Biden said it was “not very likely” Ukraine would become a NATO member anytime soon, he refused to make the promise to Russia.”
The promise was once made in 1990’s when Clinton promised Yeltsin (or Gorbachev) that NATO would not expand.
See? Its like the Iran deal. Obama promised, Trump abrogated because there were no signed papers. Biden was trying to play the same game.
There is a great article in antiwar, the speech Scott Horton made to the Libertarian Party of Utah. It sums up everything we needed to know.
https://original.antiwar.com/scott/2022/03/02/the-history-behind-the-russia-ukraine-war/
“High Level Diplomacy…” Now, there’s a thought: pull out those doobies, get high, then make decisions and diplomatic gestures… How about painting some sunflowers on those nuclear war-heads!
Great idea. Doobies instead of death.
I’m more inclined to boobies instead of death. “Make love not war.”
Biden has no interest in ending the war. Why should he want to negotiate? The true name for this war should be “The War To Sacrifice The Ukrainian People For The Benefit Of The American Political Establishment”.
And, American business. Yahoo! America! America! America! Let them die, we want the money!
Some American businesses. Others will be damaged by the sanctions.
This war doesn’t benefit the American political establishment.
They need the US dollar to be a welcome part of every national treasury, not a necessary evil kept to a minimum, and to be sovereign in their own country.
For international Globalist Socialist elites, its a different story. They’re in this for the shadenfreude and power grabbing.
For only US$ 125 million, Soros can buy the Democratic Party and some RINOs.
Speaking of “diplomacy”, this is how the Ukrainians engage in it… The “spy” claim is undoubtedly to cover up the fact that the neo-Nazis executed him for being part of the negotiation team.
SPY ‘EXECUTED’ Ukraine peace negotiator shot dead ‘defending the nation’ amid claims he was a ‘double agent’ working for Russia
https://www.the-sun.com/news/4831656/ukraine-peace-negotiator-spy-shot-russia-kireev/
Speaking of “diplomacy”, this is how the Ukrainians engage in it… The “spy” claim is undoubtedly to cover up the fact that the neo-Nazis executed him for being part of the negotiation team.
SPY ‘EXECUTED’ Ukraine peace negotiator shot dead ‘defending the nation’ amid claims he was a ‘double agent’ working for Russia
https://www.the-sun.com/news/4831656/ukraine-peace-negotiator-spy-shot-russia-kireev/
Diplomacy was never in the cards.
NATO nations just needed a pretext for all-out economic and social media warfare against Russia, with any opposition undermined by there being a real Russia-Ukraine war with Russia as the apparent aggressor.
The sheer ugliness of the campaign undermines the West in ways they don’t care about, that are nonetheless real and will have long-term consequences.
No non-Westerner, and no small number of Westerners, will ever feel secure dealing with a Canadian or European bank or business organization ever again, just to start.
Even famed Swiss bank neutrality is over.
Oh Blinky…you’ll come to the negotiation table when Russia has encircled all the major cities and cut off water, gas, electricity and food. Starvation is the best way to get anyone to think twice to try trap Russians in a tiring Urban warfare.
The word “unprovoked” has been on every Tom dick and Harry’s lips when 8 years of continuous blatant provocation was in evidence.
More like 31. Jan 1, 1991 is the official date of the Cold War ending. Pretty much from that point on.
Antiwar had better watch their butt. Moon of Alabama is currently under attack by an army of trolls that include commentator name hijacking as a tactic – has completely screwed up the latest thread. Even hijacked my name, which is the first time that’s happened to me.
Also, The Saker site just went down in the middle of trying to post a comment. [UPDATE: My bad! That was scheduled maintenance for a server change.]
There is a really coordinated social media campaign to destroy anyone offering anything contrary to the consensus narrative. If Antiwar doesn’t have a DDoS protection service, better get it now. RT has DDoS-Guard up now.
I think anti-war has already been hacked. When I was trying to respond to Gene Berkman, my computer was disabled so that when I typed, there was a long delay before the letters would come up, making it impossible for me to write more than a brief sentence.
That’s a long-time recurring bug with Disqus. I’ve encountered it once a month or so for years.
Thanks for cluing me in. I hate Disqus.
These morons never stop. Now the US wants to tell Poland to give Ukraine Poland’s own jets and the US will replace them. I wonder how stupid Poland is if they will actually consider this moronic plan.
https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3169421/ukraine-war-us-poland-working-supplying-russian
Yeah, no duh there’s a problem transferring the aircraft – it’s called “Russia.”
And the own goals just keep on coming…
Western cancel culture has gone nuclear in targeting an entire country
The West doesn’t seem to have considered the campaign’s collateral
damage, or how persecution could be expected to promote peace
https://www.rt.com/news/551205-west-cancel-associated-russia/
😂
You stop and think about it and Russia is using a similar tactic the US is using as they try to contain Russia.. Surround them with military bases or troops in this instance, then little by little tighten the noose until Ukraine has no choice but to hopefully stop fighting and listen to reason. Of course the US and NATO do not want a peaceful compromise because they think this war is going to harm Russia and so they want to keep it going.
Russia is using the same tactics they used in Syria against terrorists…….the Banderites in Ukraine are no better than ISIS.
Zelensky himself said today that the West wants Ukrainians to be killed and that “we are fighting for where the new border will be.” Putin said “If the leadership of Ukraine continues to do what they are doing, it will call into question the future of Ukrainian statehood, and that will be entirely their responsibility”
The collective west is clearly determined to heroically fight Russia down to the last Ukrainian. If the Ukrainian delegation agrees to a surrender, then things can be resolved with the least amount of needless deaths and suffering. However, the West will not allow the Ukrainians to surrender and those Ukrainians who might agree to talk will get shot by their own (it is happening all over Banderastan right now).
In Kiev, right outside the Pechersky Court, SBU officers killed Kireev, a member of the Ukrainian delegation to the Gomel negotiations with Russia. Allegedly “for treason. That is, they executed him without trial. An official. In the center of Kiev. Apparently, Zelensky himself could be next.
Russia does not appear to be using a US anaconda strategy on purpose.
They fell into it after leading a failed cavalry charge across the Ukraine frontier without paving the way with shock and awe.
A little precision bombing here and there wasn’t going to deter the Azov battalion or Right Sector. Even the AFU gained enough of a morale boost to start shooting back.
Biden needs it to go on for as long as possible to distract from his many failures.