Secretary of State Antony Blinken and his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov have not spoken since February 15, over a week before Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine on February 24, the State Department told Antiwar.com on Friday.
On Wednesday, The Washington Post cited US officials who said Blinken hasn’t attempted to speak with Lavrov since the start of the conflict. When asked to confirm the story, a State Department spokesperson said, “We can confirm that the last time Secretary Blinken and Foreign Minister Lavrov spoke was on February 15.”
“We continue to believe diplomacy is key to bringing an end to the mounting human suffering from the Kremlin’s chosen war of aggression. However, we also remain clear-eyed about President Putin’s intentions given what’s happening on the ground,” the spokesperson said.
Russian and Ukrainian officials have been engaged in negotiations, but there are no signs that the Biden administration is involved or pushing for a diplomatic solution. Instead, the US has pledged over $1 billion in new military aid for Ukraine and is increasing sanctions aimed at hurting Russia’s economy.
The State Department spokesperson said that it is the administration’s position that “the Russian government needs to stop its campaign of death and destruction immediately, remove its forces from Ukraine, and respect Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.”
Russia’s leading negotiator, Vladimir Medinsky, said Friday that talks with Ukraine are ongoing and the two sides are close to agreements on secondary issues, but haven’t made much progress on key differences.
“Negotiations have been going on all week, from Monday to Friday, in video conference format, and will continue tomorrow,” Medinsky said, according to Interfax. “On secondary issues, positions are converging. However on the main political issues, we are in fact treading water.”
While Russia’s assault has been incredibly destructive, there are signs things could get much worse if the negotiations fail. A senior analyst with the Pentagon’s Defense Intelligence Agency told Newsweek that Russian President Vladimir Putin could be holding back to leave room for negotiations.
“I know it’s hard … to swallow that the carnage and destruction could be much worse than it is,” the DIA analyst said. “But that’s what the facts show. This suggests to me, at least, that Putin is not intentionally attacking civilians, that perhaps he is mindful that he needs to limit damage in order to leave an out for negotiations.”
“the Russian government needs to stop its campaign of death and
destruction immediately, remove its forces from Ukraine, and respect
Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.”
That Ain’t Gonna Happen.
As for Russia holding back because of “negotiations”, nonsense. Russia is holding back for two reasons: 1) the primary reason is because it has a political goal of reorienting Ukraine (or at least its government) to be pro-Russian, and therefore doesn’t want to unnecessarily increase Ukrainian hostility to Russia, and 2) Russia feels Ukraine is a “close relative” historically and does not want to destroy it – which it could easily do if it didn’t care about these two reasons.
Russia will continue its military operation until its objectives are accomplished: 1) de-militarization of the Ukraine military’s ties to NATO, and 2) de-Nazification of Ukraine. Then Russia will arrange for a new Ukrainian governmental structure, a new Constitution, new elections, reorganization of the Ukrainian military and security services, and a withdrawal of most of its forces. Subsequently, Russia will make economic deals with Ukraine to improve its economy and strategic deals to place Russian bases with strategic missiles inside Ukraine.
Why do I claim this? Because it’s the only logical course for Russia to follow re Ukraine. Whether they will do all of it is, of course, impossible to say. We’ll have to wait and see. But most commentators on “Russia’s intentions” have a serious lack of imagination.
And where were you when NATO went on it`s grand tour of the M.E not to mention Cosovo ect ect leaveing DEATH , DESTRUCTION & CHAOS in it`s wake ?.
I don’t understand where this non-sequiter is going.
It’s not going anywhere. He’s an idiot.
Some things have changed since you posted this Richard. They may not risk Ukraine ever being captured by NATO in the future. The only way to be sure would be to remove Ukraine from the map.
Now, Russia has announced there is no more “Ukraine” as the world currently knows it.
Donbass, including all the territory captured recently, may join the Russian federation.
https://www.rt.com/russia/552790-donbass-republic-referendum-join-russia/
It looks as though “Ukraine”, as we know it, no longer exists.
Check out ex-CIA Larry Johnson’s take on the current military situation in Ukraine. tl;dr: Ukraine is losing badly.
Update on the Military Situation in Ukraine
https://sonar21.com/update-on-the-military-situation-in-ukraine/
https://sonar21.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Russian-Counter-Propaganda.mp4
Not sure if the rap music is appropriate.
The Wiki Russian Invasion map indicates mixed results across the Russian crescent in Ukraine:
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4f/2022_Russian_invasion_of_Ukraine.svg
This is a stalemated conventional war of attrition. Russia has engaged more advanced anti-AD measures to counter Ukraine’s NATO-embellished air defenses.
https://southfront.org/russian-su-34-bombers-are-now-using-advanced-ew-system-to-jam-ukrainian-air-defenses/
In the Russia – West Ukraine missile war, so far Russia has far outscored Ukraine, including sending a strong message to Western mercs. Ukraine did manage to sink one landing ship unloading at Berdiansk port.
https://twitter.com/dancohen3000/status/1503930469028610052?s=21
https://southfront.org/russian-kalibr-missiles-flying-to-west-ukrainian-lviv-under-fire-videos/
https://southfront.org/breaking-russian-large-landing-ship-exploded-in-ukrainian-port-of-berdyansk-videos/
– Russian forces have been repulsed down the Southern Bug river from Mikolav oblast back to the Kherson oblast border.
– Russian forces have finally secured all of Kherson oblast, finally taking Zalizny Port and the surrounding territory days after the oblast had been officially declared captured.
– In Zaporizhzhia Oblast, Russia intercepted at least one Ukraine missile over Berdiansk port. One landing ship caught fire and was partially sunk at dock, and two others forced to abruptly depart.
– In Donestk oblast, Mariupol remains uncaptured with intense fighting concentrated in industrial areas. Meanwhile inland, fighting has not moved beyond the original contact line. No indications of material cauldroning – complete physical envelopment by ground forces – just air interdiction westward of the contact line.
– Lugansk oblast is almost entirely recaptured by Russian and LNR forces. Combat remains concentrated in the last node of resistance around Sievierodonetsk and neighboring towns of Lysychansk and Rubizhne. Again, not indications of true cauldroning, just air interdiction.
– Kharkiv oblast remains stalemated, with Russian forces unable to surround Khariv city or secure Izium despite claims of capture since March 6.
– Sumy oblast remains unchanged, stalameted with no notable centres fallen, the Sumy city not surrounded.
– In Chernihiv oblast, a Ukrainian thrust north has forced Russian forces back pat Slavutych. Russian forces from the east have regained ground and returned to contest Brovarly.
– In Kiev oblast, Russian forces remain stalemated around the capital of Kiev, with Kiev forces able to sally north, hold south, and contest the Russian advance from the north-west at Irpen.
Three is no “stalemate” in Kiev. Russia is not trying to take the city. As for “no cauldron” you literally have no idea what you’re talking about. Look at the maps. Any part of the encirclement which is not complete is “completed under fire” meaning the Russian artillery controls the difference. There are actually several smaller cauldrons inside the main cauldron.
In any event, within a couple weeks the Donbass should be sorted out.
We keep hearing about the stalemate and Kiev withstanding the non-existent Russian forces trying to take over the city! Russian advice on what they are doing is ignored by the Western media. Kiev has has troops encircling and keeping it from letting Ukie troops out to do more damage, for weeks, but a southern corridor of “escape” has always been available to those who want it. The West pretends to know what the Russians do and that they are “just like us” ie bent on destruction (of the country next door which they will need to live next to for the foreseeable future) and want to stay neutral).
Even Putin can’t remake the natural rules of warfare.
If Russia encircles cities, it is claimed Russia is containing Ukie forces and trying to protect civvie lives. Yet the AFU and neo-Nazis will let the civvies starve long before they do.
If Russia can’t encircle cities, it is claimed Russia is leaving escape routes open to the civilian population.Even though civvies are shot trying to escape and need armed protection to evac.
The reality is, Russia doesn’t have enough soldiers to take every city quickly, so has to concentrate on the most valuable first.
Nor can air power alone completely prevent transport over such a large geography as Ukraine, which still has potent NATO-buffed anti-air defenses. Again, a cauldron is a physical envelopment of ground forces by ground forces, not air interdiction.
Ukraine still has air defenses because Putin, perhaps guided too much by anti-Western Western idiots, thought that none of over 200 000 Uki Nazis wouldn’t fight back, so opted not to Shock and Awe all military targets in the first days.
Perhaps it was assumed most caches and depots even of the neo-Nazis would become prizes of an unopposed war. Materiale can be replaced. Good soldiers are not so easily replaced.
All oblasts that didn’t surrender as Kherson did should have had their military infrastructure cratered.
https://southfront.org/in-video-dpr-lpr-forces-got-captured-ukrainian-weapons-including-foreign-atgms/
Mykolaiv, should no longer have any military capability. Instead, they are counter-attacking into Kherson.
Ukrainian extremists mined the experimental reactor in Kharkov, so the Russians can’t enter without inviting a nuclear incident. Kharkov is out of the game.
Maybe this small reactor should have been prioritized by SF the way Chernobyl was.
In cities we know the Russians want to take but offer resistance like Izium and Mariupol, great effort is made to open civilian corridors and enable citizens to escape.
Russian Armed Forces then have to fight street-by-street against fanatics hiding amongst remaining civilians and in civilian and industrial buildings.
This is a very manpower intensive way to wage war.
A lot of problems could have been solved with a thorough shock and awe campaign in the early days destroying enemy troops and materiale before they fully retreated into civilian areas.
Fighting this war as if the Russian Army were SWAT cops taking out misguided and misunderstood terrorists is only going to prolong human suffering by prolonging the war.
In a real war, the Azovstal industrial area in Mariupol would be cratered, not painstakingly captured in a costly police action to try and capture the property intact; that isn’t going to happen.
It will be destroyed anyway; Azov Battalion has weeks and weeks if not months and months of materiale laid away to keep raiding throughout Mariupol, and are likely in satellite contact with NATO handlers feeding them intel.
Very depressing, but you have the usual Western knowledge to tell the Russians what to do.
A military cauldron is complete physical encirclement.
I can see and read the maps I posted.
Russia’s avoiding the cities because they can’t take them quickly or cleanly without significant losses.
Andrei Martyanov on Russian losses…
Andrei Martyanov on Russian losses…
Major General Igor Konashenkov tabled the originals of the secret cipher telegrams from the commander of the National Guard of Ukraine, Colonel General Balan, dated January 22, 2022. The order details the plan for the preparation of one of the strike groups for offensive actions in the zone of the so-called “joint forces operation” in the Donbass.
The order stated “All measures of the nationalists’ combat coordination are ordered to be completed by February 28. In order to start performing combat missions as part of the Ukrainian “joint forces operation” in the Donbass in March 2022.
The special military operation launched by the Russian Armed Forces on February 24 thwarted a large-scale offensive by shock groups of Ukrainian troops on the Lugansk and Donetsk People’s Republic. This made it possible to save tens, if not hundreds of thousands, of Donbass civilians, whom the Kiev regime has been methodically shooting with large-caliber and rocket artillery for the past 8 years, driving the elderly, women and children into basements.
I’m wondering about that claim. The original documents Russia showed a couple weeks ago had nothing in them that I could see – working from a translation – that referenced an operation in Donbass in March, 2020. It was merely an operational order transferring a unit from one place to Donbass.
I’m trying to find out if this document is the same document or a different one. There is no English translation as of yet.
The secret order of Colonel General Balan, commander of the National Guard of Ukraine, dated January 22, 2022, has been published.
The document is addressed to the heads of the northern Kiev, southern Odessa and western territorial administrations of the National Guard of Ukraine.
The order details the plan for preparing one of the strike groups for offensive actions in the so-called “joint forces operation” zone in Donbass.
The nationalists are instructed to complete all the combat training measures by February 28. So that in March 2022 they can start carrying out combat tasks as part of the Ukrainian “joint forces operation” in Donbass.
I have that document. It does NOT specify an operation for March, 2022, unless the translation I have is incorrect. The document is merely an order to move a battalion from one location to the Donbass front. It is not an operational order to start an assault on Donbass. That would be either one page or hundreds of pages, not six pages.
I don’t believe that Ukraine would have planned on a major offensive to take back the separatist-held regions at a time Russia was massing more than 130,000 troops at its borders.
Very important briefings from the Russian Ministry of Defence.
Briefing by the Russian Ministry of Defence on the current results of the special military operation in Ukraine
http://thesaker.is/briefing-by-the-russian-ministry-of-defence-on-the-current-results-of-the-special-military-operation-in-ukraine/
Two more briefings: Colonel General Sergei Rudskoy and Colonel General Mikhail Mizintse
http://thesaker.is/speech-of-the-head-of-the-main-operational-directorate-of-the-general-staff-of-the-armed-forces-of-the-russian-federation-colonel-general-sergei-rudskoy/
How does anyone expect to end a war with no talking? Just as before the war even began – lack of diplomacy and compromise.
“We continue to believe diplomacy is key to bringing an end to the
mounting human suffering from the Kremlin’s chosen war of aggression.”
–The only “diplomacy” the US practices is forcing sanctions on lesser beings, which could be anyone, even US citizens who are taxed $800 billion a year going to an ineffective, corrupt military force.
Bragging about stupidity.
Hello Wally, your the head diplomat at the Dept of State. Do your job and negotiate an end to hostilities. You failed to negotiate prior to hostilities and now you are failing to negotiate peace.
More on Russian and Ukrainian losses…
Ukraine’s Air Force, Air Defences Almost Completely Destroyed, Navy Has Ceased to Exist: Russian MoD
https://sputniknews.com/20220325/russian-troops-have-blocked-kiev-kharkov-control-most-of-zaporozhye-region-general-staff-says-1094187894.html
These KIA and WIA numbers are radically different from what Ukrainian sources have been reporting; I believe just last week Kiev was reporting some 13,000 Russian troops KIA while reporting their own troop and equipment losses as being ‘minimal’. Considering the Ukraine has been from the outset drafting civilians to be cannon fodder (while portraying them as ‘heroic defenders’) I think for the time being I’ll lean towards Moscow’s reports as being more in line with reality.
The Ukrainian government so far has not impressed me. And no matter how I feel about their numbers – they have shown lack of care for human life. They forbade surrender by units surrounded by Russian forces, even when units asked for it. They know whst is going on in Mariupol, the desperate attempts by people to flee, but to Russia controlled territory, not back to their jailors.
Ukraine insists busses take prople to another Nazi controlled territory. knowing full well what Russian inhabitants of Mariupol have gone thtu. They know verywe why Russisns are stopping busses — checking for forcibly bussed people.
One can go on and on about the lack of respect of human life — while united with their Western partners in their joint volubility about human tragedy.
I have not sensed one genuine concern for life from the president – people be talks about ferl like props in hiis show,
It’s hard to believe about the actual losses and wounded. But I can see the destruction of the air defense and airfields.
Thanks for posting this. Where I live, Russian sources are completely banned. The degree of censorship in the West is unprecedented. Even during the cold war it wasn’t that bad. The figures you cite sound a lot more realistic than what we hear from Ukraine.
Try going to Indian Punchline. M. Bhadrakumar is a 30 year retired Indian diplomat who in his blog reports on events. His has published nust recently on Biden’s trip to Europe, as well as many relevant data from Russian military report.
I find the words of this commentator very interesting and informative. The Indian site WION or gravitas, alleged to be unbiased, also very good and clear, showing different points of view including NATO faults!
Here in the EU there is NO free speech! Lots of the articles (all exactly word for word alike) have comments, and the people who read them nearly all seem to realize that the MSM are just spouting BIDEN∕NATO nonsense.
If you have Youtube check out this channel if you can https://youtu.be/-itwXZTSJKU
What is there to really talk about? Same people involved in the 2014 coup are back.
One reason Russia couldn’t wait cleaning up US’s Nazi hordes on the ukraine was the increasing impression that there’s no one to talk to in the US and that could only get worse in a failed state prone to infighting and armed with nukes.
Isn’t that something Blinky should be telling his psychiatrist?
Washington’s idea of negotiating is you give up everything you have and then we’ll talk.
https://www.theglobeandmail.com/amp/opinion/article-if-russia-is-truly-concerned-about-denazification-it-should-address/
For the war to end Biden’s handlers and Russia should engage in dialogue . Zelemsky is of no concern since Biden he are puppets on the same string
There was time for dialog between 2014 and the start of the special operations. There was also a last opportunity in December when Russia bypassed the EU lapdogs and presented the US with written demands. Or you can go further back to 1990’s and the numerous complaints of NATO’s eastward expansion. Either way, that horse has left the barn.
Almost right , Putin didn`t make demands he wanted to disscuss His concerns regards Russian security guarantees from NATO aggression on Russias door step ,two things pushed Putin to make a incursion into Ukriane , one was Idiots like stolenburg saying no one could stop Ukraine joining NATO which was a red line for Putin , and two was when Zelensky said Nukes could be deployed in Ukraine with a flight time of 4 minutes to Moscow , Putin was left with no option , and that is exactly how it was planned by the US push Putin into a corrner , now Europe will be totally dependent on the US for Gas ect , with US corporations making billions from the high energy cost to the people of Europe.
Almost right. Europe is willing partner in US stepping in and hijacking its foreign policy.
Russia and China have worked with Europe collectively and European countries individually. But the results were almost the same — they were drawn into investing, nust to find out that at the first US expression of unhappiness — Europe would ditch them.
This is a process of concentrating minds. Europe will have to decide. Where is their development goung to come from? Where are the markets?
It is very important for both Russia and China to prevent overinvestment into unreliable partners. At least until it becames clearer.
Under the first US onslaught of demanding goosestep. excuse me, lockstep, things will clarify. Already started judging by Biden’s trip.
Why would Lavrov want to talk to a IDIOT like Bliken ? , all Bliken would do is lecture Lavrov on what Russia can and can`t do .
Biden about the war: “nothing less than a direct challenge to the rule-based international order established by the end of World War II.”
1. He supported bombing Iraq for 12 years, on average once a week, targeting water refineries and power plants so there’d be no air conditioning in the blistering summer heat. The starvation sanctions killed at least half a million children, which his colleague Madeleine Albright said was “worth it”.
2. Biden was the head of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, where he blocked experts who would have spoken out against the Afghanistan and Iraq invasions and would have countered the Dem-GOP arguments. He suppressed valuable information proving Iraq had no “WMDs”. He and the senator Hillary Clinton were the ones who made the war bipartisan.
3. He has bragged about being the first to call for bombing Serbia’s capital, which was done for 78 days, obliterating all normal life and empoverising the whole country.
4. He was in charge of Ukraine policy under Obama, and with his lackey Ukrainian-born Victoria Nuland he financed the groups that overthrew democracy in 2014, bussing in “spontaneous protesters” that killed nine police officers and broke into police stations to steal arms. For this he was rewarded with a huge bribe, $50,000 sent to his bagman, the crackhead Hunter, every single month by Ukraine’s Burisma, of which Hunter sent half to his dad, as the emails on Hunter’s laptop have revealed, which is why leftist media completely suppressed it before the election.
“Rule-based international order.”
The USA ignores international law and has its own, based on being in charge of the world.
Defense Politics Asia posted yesterday a 59 minute long video analyzing the first 30 days of the war, from day 1 until yesterday, showing progressive maps of each change in the war every few days. This is a perfect opportunity to get caught up on how the war has evolved over the last 30 days.
Poor Mr Lavrov could not bear another chat with Blinken.
The clever Pentagon has at last noticed that the Russian way is not shock, awe, destruction and the Russians avoid civilian casualties and even infrastructure which is not military. Food, water, electricity, transport, internet ….remain available except in the real fighting against the Azov/Zelinsky hardliners and their human shields eg Mariupol, but the Pentagon decides what Russia’s priorities are!!!
Poor Mr Lavrov could not bear another chat with Blinken.
The clever Pentagon has at last noticed that the Russian way is not shock, awe, destruction and the Russians avoid civilian casualties and even infrastructure which is not military. Food, water, electricity, transport, internet ….remain available except in the real fighting against the Azov/Zelinsky hardliners and their human shields eg Mariupol, but the Pentagon decides what Russia’s priorities are!!!
State Department: Blinken Hasn’t Spoken With Russian FM Since Before Invasion. Perhaps Blinker should be telling his analyst his problems and not reporters.