Joe Biden may have missed an opportunity to potentially end the horrific conflict between Ukraine and Russia by outright dismissing one of the combatant’s peace proposals. If true, this would mark yet another catastrophic foreign policy failure.
Reuters reported Tuesday that Russian President Vladimir Putin signaled to Washington in 2023 in public and privately through intermediaries that he was ready to open to a ceasefire in Ukraine. Putin’s proposal was to freeze the war along current lines, which includes territory gained by Russia.
Sources told Reuters that this approach from Putin offered what some Kremlin figures saw as the best hope for some form of peace. But Biden and his Regime rejected the proposal without countering, as one Russian source lamented.
Another Russian source explained that the Regime insisted on involving Ukraine in any discussion regarding a possible ceasefire. This immovable position caused the talks to collapse completely.
“Everything fell apart with the Americans,” he said.
From Reuters:
Intermediaries met in Turkey in late 2023, according to three Russian sources. A fourth diplomatic source said there had been Russian-U.S. unofficial contacts through intermediaries at Russia’s initiative but that they appeared to have come to nothing.
According to three Russian sources, Putin’s signal was relayed to Washington, where top U.S. officials, including White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan, Central Intelligence Agency Director Bill Burns, and U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, met.
The idea was that Sullivan would speak to Putin’s foreign policy adviser, Yuri Ushakov, and set out the next steps, one of the Russian sources said.
But when the call came in January, Sullivan told Ushakov that Washington was willing to talk about other aspects of the relationship but would not speak about a ceasefire without Ukraine, said one of the Russian sources.
Russian sources expressed frustration with the Regime’s stubborn stance not to encourage Ukraine to engage in talks, given that the United States is extensively funding the war. Putin reportedly did not appear surprised by the rejection and is vowing to continue fighting.
The US reportedly rejected peace between Russia and Ukraine in 2022.
The Gateway Pundit previously reported that Putin told former Fox News host Tucker Carlson in an interview last week that Russia is ready for dialogue regarding the war. Combining Putin’s statements with this Reuters report challenges the conventional wisdom regarding who desires peace more.
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