Three years ago, Russia invaded Ukraine. This was but the latest chapter in a series of events/conflicts between Russia and Ukraine stretching back to the end of the Soviet Union (1991) and the coup/uprising against a moderately pro-Russian Ukrainian leader in 2014. Since the Russian invasion, and during the earlier period as well, attempts to broker a lasting peace have been unsuccessful. A major stumbling block has been the invitation (2006).from the US to Ukraine to join the NATO military alliance “at some future time.” In just a few days, the Trump people have turned this stalemate on its head, meeting with Russia yesterday to begin an end-the-war process. Ukraine and European nations are indignant that they were not invited to the meeting. It appears that a US-Russian proposed agreement will include a prohibition on Ukraine joining NATO and would allow Russia to keep substantial parts of Ukraine. For three years (or more) the US peace movement has called for negotiations and an end to the war in Ukraine. But were the events unfolding now what we were hoping for? And if not, what are our alternatives? The two pieces of reading/viewing linked below illustrate some of the issues that the US piece movement will have to consider in continuing to work for an end to the war on Ukraine. We hope that this post will generate comments and discussion. (Video) “A Victory for Putin”? Jeffrey Sachs & Matt Duss Debate U.S.-Russia Talks to End Ukraine War Trump Gives Peace a Chance in Ukraine Donald Trump promised to end the war in Ukraine if he was re-elected as president. On February 12th, he started to make good on that promise by holding a 90-minute call with Russian President Vladimir Putin, whom Biden had refused to talk to since the war began. They agreed that they were ready to begin peace negotiations “immediately,” and Trump then called President Zelensky and spent an hour discussing the conditions for what Zelensky called a “lasting and reliable peace.” At the same time, the new U.S. Defense Secretary, Pete Hegseth, unveiled Trump’s new policy in more detail at a meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group at NATO Headquarters in Brussels, saying, “The bloodshed must stop. And this war must end.” There are two parts to the new policy that Hegseth announced. First, he said that Trump “intends to end this war by diplomacy and bringing both Russia and Ukraine to the table.” Secondly, he said that the United States is handing off the prime responsibility for arming Ukraine and guaranteeing its future security to the European members of NATO. [Read More]
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Wednesday, February 19, 2025
Should Peace Advocates Support Trump’s “Peace Plan” for Ukraine?
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