The talks going on at state department level seem to indicate that a settlement is being forced onto Ukraine due to the determination of Russia and the force they are bringing to bear.
Yesterday there were reports that the most intensive missile strikes since the conflict began , were raining down all over the Ukraine, so it is possible this is a diplomatic message to Blinken and one which would have him squirming if the reports below are confirmed. ."The author makes certain statements which are not explicitly corroborated by David Ignatius. (see article below). Ignatius acknowledges that Blinken “has begun planning for an eventual postwar military balance”.
He also refers to “A demilitarized status”.
The article also mentions a News Interview at the State Department.
The statements attributed by the author to Blinken remain to be confirmed.
David Ignatius (lead image, left) has been a career-long mouthpiece for the US State Department. He has just been called in by the current Secretary of State Antony Blinken (right) to convey an urgent new message to President Vladimir Putin, the Security Council, and the General Staff in Moscow.
For the first time since the special military operation began last year, the war party in Washington is offering terms of concession to Russia’s security objectives explicitly and directly, without the Ukrainians in the way.
The terms Blinken has told Ignatius to print appeared in the January 25 edition of the Washington Post.
The territorial concessions Blinken is tabling include Crimea, the Donbass, and the Zaporozhye, Kherson “land bridge that connects Crimea and Russia”. West of the Dnieper River, north around Kharkov, and south around Odessa and Nikolaev, Blinken has tabled for the first time US acceptance of “a demilitarized status” for the Ukraine. [This is not explicitly addressed in the Ignatius’ article]
Also, US agreement to restrict the deployment of HIMARS, US and NATO infantry fighting vehicles, and the Abrams and Leopard tanks to a point in western Ukraine from which they can “manoeuvre…as a deterrent against future Russian attacks.”
This is an offer for a tradeoff – partition through a demilitarized zone (DMZ) in the east of the Ukraine in exchange for a halt to the planned Russian offensive destroying the fortifications, rail hubs, troop cantonments, and airfields in the west, between the Polish and Romanian borders, Kiev and Lvov, and an outcome Blinken proposes for both sides to call “a just and durable peace that upholds Ukraine’s territorial integrity”.
