With talk on this thread about a need for a negotiated peace, it's an opportune time to reflect on how that possibility played out soon after the Russian invasion.
in an essay republished April 2 in John Menadue's weekly Pearls & Irritations entitled "Americans are starting to realize they've been lied to about Ukraine" writer Donald Smith had the piece published first in Global Research on March 25.
he said in it the "essay is a summary of what the U.S. government has been hiding about the war in Ukraine, with links to sources for further information."
the following are excerpts from the essay.
"Likewise, the American Conservative published Why Peace Talks, But No Peace? (The U.S. has prevented earnest negotiations and prolonged the war in Ukraine.):
"Three separate times in the early weeks of the war, negotiations produced the real possibility of peace. The third even yielded a tentative agreement that was, according to Putin, signed. Both sides made “huge concessions,” including Ukraine promising each time not to join NATO. But each time, the U.S. put a stop to the promise of a diplomatic solution and peace, allowing the war to go on and to escalate, seemingly in the pursuit of U.S., not Ukrainian, interests.
"In fact, according to Ukrainian Official Confirms Russia Was Ready to End War in March 2022 If Kyiv Agreed to Neutrality:
"David Arakhamia, a high-ranking member of Volodymyr Zelensky’s Servant of the People political party, said that Kyiv could have ended the war with Russia after a month if it agreed not to join NATO. The official said that Moscow was not concerned about other issues, such as “denazification,” but only wanted Kyiv to agree to neutrality.
"In an interview with TV channel 1+1, a Ukrainian network, Arakhamia confirmed previous reporting that Moscow and Kyiv had nearly agreed to end the war in March 2022. Still, Ukraine’s Western backers pushed it to try to win the war against Russia."
Bellcurve: what sort of complete and utter mess has the US lied it's way into this time.