It wasn’t that long ago, when For God’s Sake Zhou was saying:
And if that wasn’t reassuring enough, listen to the person who some people claim is the POTUS:
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That was an ad I saw while reading about our preparations for the Ukraine bugout:
U.S., European officials broach topic of peace negotiations with Ukraine, sources say
The conversations have included very broad outlines of what Ukraine might need to give up to reach a deal with Russia.
There’s a catch to the Ukraine bugout—nobody seems to have asked the Russians what they think. For the record, Dmitry Medvedev is confident a deal can be reached:
The Devil, as usual, is in the details. Andrei Martyanov suggests a non-comprehensive list of what might be included in the details:
It is understandable that Medvedev's statement coincided with increasingly loud voices from Washington about "peace talks" between Russia and 404. It is wrong impression--do not mistake Washington's (desperate) desires for Kremlin's policies. Ukraine is gone as a state--it is a virtual pseudo-state supported by West's money, while having its military utterly destroyed and the question here is how many war criminals from NATO will be charged once Tribunal proceedings open in earnest. As I am on record ad nauseam--the ONLY issue for Russia now is how far she wants to go and how much she gains territoriality, e.g. Odessa. The ONLY "peace talks" between Russia and 404 possible will look like this:
1. Confederalization of 404 with eventual break up.
2. Full disarmament with only police force existing in its most basic form.
3. No NATO presence in any form.
4. War criminals transferred to Russian justice.
5. De facto, external governance from Moscow.
Something along those lines. Don't quote me on that, Russia has superb lawyers who will arrange it better than me.
So, stop panicking. And yes, the United States now need desperately an off-ramp. I doubt Russia will get it easily to US because modern Washington is non-agreement capable and Kremlin is keenly aware of that. Medvedev talks about new generation of US politicos who may emerge (some are emerging) as people Moscow can work with.
What Martyanov is saying is this: The West is desperate to have Russia negotiate with Ukraine. Martyanov argues that Russia is no longer interested in talking with Ukraine, since it has shown itself to be no more than the puppet/proxy of the Neocons of the Anglosphere. Russia will wait for the US to come up with new leadership that is agreement capable. In the meantime, the dismantling of Ukraine will proceed apace. Russia will watch the US/Israel Middle East debacle with interest.
Time is on Russia's side. With each day that passes, the neocons' situation in Ukraine gets worse.
What was it Obama whispered to medvedev? “After the election I’ll have greater freedom of action”. Or words to that effect. I think this is the Russians whispering to Trump.