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For the sake of saving Ukrainian lives, negotiations and talks for peace should be a top priority. This is what we support.
On February 24th, 2022, Russia invaded Ukraine. At Earth Future Action, we absolutely condemn this action. Vladimir Putin's decision to invade Ukraine will have the most dire consequences for both the Ukrainian and Russian people. This war is a very serious situation. It could threaten a nuclear confrontation between America and Russia and is certain to do very serious harm to the US economy and the world economy.
And in terms of the threat of nuclear war, Russia is currently developing new nuclear delivery systems. Putin has also said Russia would be willing to consider any means necessary to protect their territorial integrity.
"And if the territorial integrity of our country is threatened, we will certainly use all the means at our disposal to protect Russia and our people. This is not a bluff." (Business Insider, 9-20-22)
There is also the fact that there has been recent damage to the Nord Stream pipelines carrying Russian gas to Europe. Two leaks were detected in the Nord Stream 1 pipeline and one leak in the Nord Stream 2 pipeline. And while it's too early to tell, some believe this potentially could have been an act of sabotage (which is only going to exacerbate the current crisis). Germany is now facing a potential winter gas crisis.
We believe it's important to have a factual overview of the situation. We are posting documentary material below as a service to our readers.
The important thing now is to look at the facts and begin to work on a plan for peace in Ukraine. It is time for a ceasefire to prevent anymore killing.
SOLUTIONS FOR PEACE IN UKRAINE
Russia and Ukraine have outlined conditions for peace. And yet there are no negotiations being made on the part of the U.S. to push the situation toward peace.
Russia has said they are willing to negotiate. Ukraine has said they would consider some of Russia's terms. Ukraine's President, Zelenskyy also deserves credit for offering some constructive ideas to stop the crisis.
In the interest of saving lives, we believe that a ceasefire at this time would be the best option for all parties involved. Let's have an internationally supervised plebiscite to help the different regions of Ukraine decide their future. The Minsk Agreement helped end the war in the Donbass region of Ukraine. We do not see why international cooperation and compromise cannot be the solution once more at this time.
We also think America should enter back into the treaties it pulled out of, such as the Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe, and the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty.
See Our Reports Below For More Information.
Time for a Ceasefire in Ukraine - A Viable Plan To End the War
Treaties
Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe
Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty
Coalition Sends Peace Letter to Biden
Coalition Urges Biden to 'Maximize' Efforts to Achieve Diplomatic End to Ukraine War (Common Dreams, 3-29-22) Read Letter Here (PDF)
More than a dozen progressive organizations sent a letter to U.S. President Joe Bideny, urging his administration to do everything in its power to bring about a diplomatic solution to the war in Ukraine and to avoid doing anything that would cause a further escalation, which they warned might lead to a direct military clash between NATO and Russia, both flush with nuclear weapons.
News Articles on Solutions for Peace
Opinion: A negotiated peace is the only way to end Russia's war on Ukraine (CNN, 4-20-22)
There's a Better Way to Serve Ukrainians Than Military Escalation (Common Dreams, 4-7-22)
War and Peace in Ukraine (The Nation, 3-3-22)
News Articles on Negotiations and Russia
The West's Dangerously Simple-Minded Narrative About Russia and China (Common Dreams, 8-23-22)
Putin claims U.S. wants to 'drag out' war in Ukraine (CNBC, 8-16-22)
Russia will stop 'in a moment' if Ukraine meets terms - Kremlin (Reuters, 3-7-22)
There haven't been negotiations between America and Russia since Before Invasion (Antiwar, 3-25-22)
What are the Sanctions on Russia Trying to Achieve? (Peter Beinart, 3-14-22)
Why Wouldn’t the US Negotiate With Putin? (Michael Tracey, 2-28-22)
Russia's Proposal To Redraw European Security 'Unacceptable,' U.S. Says (Radio Free Europe, 12-17-21)
RUSSIA'S DECEMBER PROPOSALS
DISCLAIMER: Posting this content does not mean we support Russia. However, we are posting the information below as a documentary service since Russian websites are being taken down and hacked a good part of the time during the conflict.
On December 17, 2021, Moscow sent proposals to Washington and its NATO allies outlining Russia's national security goals. Russia underscored that it was seeking bilateral talks exclusively with the United States.
The demands represented goals long sought by Putin, who was growing increasingly concerned that Ukraine was drifting into a Western orbit, which the Russians saw as a threat to their national security (New York Times).
One of the demands was for an end to NATO's eastward expansion and li-mitations on the alliance's military activity in Eastern Europe, including cooperation with Ukraine and Georgia.
A senior U.S. administration official called some of the proposals "unacceptable" and said the Russians "know that." However, speaking on condition of anonymity, the official said other aspects "merit some discussion." The official did not elaborate.
Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov called Washington and NATO's response to the security proposals discouraging and said during a wide-ranging interview with Interfax on December 17 that he did not consider them unacceptable to NATO's 30 members.
Early March, Russia outlined conditions for a ceasfire. We will post those below.
Russian Proposals
December Proposal (Earth Future Action, 12-17-21)
Russia Outlines Conditions for Peace (Earth Future Action, 3-7-22)
News Articles
Russia's Proposal To Redraw European Security 'Unacceptable,' U.S. Says (Radio Free Europe, 12-17-21)
A HISTORY OF GROWING TENSIONS BETWEEN THE WEST AND RUSSIA
After the Cold War, in 1990, the West made promises not to expand NATO eastward. A document from March 1991 shows US, UK, French, and German officials discussing a pledge made to Moscow that NATO would not expand to Poland and beyond. The document has been published in Der Spiegel.After the fall of the Soviet Union, there was a near universal understanding among political leaders that NATO expansion would be a foolish provocation against Russia. And yet it has happened. There is now a NATO missile base in Poland 100 miles from the Russian border. International security experts have been warning for years that the expansion of NATO would provoke a conflict with Russia, and yet the experts remained ignored.
In 2014, the U.S. government supported a coup that overthrew a legally elected Ukrainian government. The government that came to power contained nationalist elements, which were hostile to Russian speaking elements of the Ukrainian population. As a result a number of provinces voted to leave Ukraine. Crimea voted to join Russia. The Donbass area voted for independence.
Since 2014, America has also pulled out of a number of treaties with Russia, such as the Open Skies Treaty.
Links on History of Tensions Between The West and Russia
America Is Reaping What It Sowed in Ukraine (Counterpunch, 2-2-22)
What You Should Really Know About Ukraine (FAIR, 1-28-22)
U.S. and Putin's Ukraine Invasion (Quincy Institute, 2-25-22)
Western media calls Ukraine more 'civilized' than Iraq (Multipolarista, 2-28-22)
This article criticizes the racist narrative of the Western media.
UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT ZELENKSY SPEECH TO U.S. CONGRESS MARCH 16, 2022
Watch Video Here (YouTube)
Read Transcript Here (Washington Post)
SPEECHES
President Biden's Remarks on Russia's Attack on Ukraine - February 24, 2022
President Putin Speech on Ukraine - February 24, 2022
President Zelenskyy Speech After First Day of Russia's Attack - February 25, 2022
Remarks by President Biden at NATO, Brussels Belgium - March 24, 2022 (Whitehouse.gov)
Remarks by President Biden in the Royal Castle in Warsaw Poland - March 26, 2022 (Whitehouse.gov)
More Speeches from Ukraine's President, Zelenskyy
President Zelenskyy's heartfelt plea for peace and a recognition of our common humanity - February 25, 2022 (Facebook Video)
Video of Zelenskyy Speech to European Parliament - March 1st, 2022 Transcript
Biden's Speech to NATO in Belgium
Remarks by President Biden at NATO, Brussels Belgium - March 24, 2022 (Whitehouse.gov)
In this speech, Biden calls for sanctions on Russia for a year.
"Let’s get something straight: You remember, if you’ve covered me from the beginning, I did not say that in fact the sanctions would deter him. Sanctions never deter. You keep talking about that."
"Sanctions never deter. The maintenance of sanctions — the maintenance of sanctions, the increasing the pain, and the demonstration — why I asked for this NATO meeting today — is to be sure that after a month, we will sustain what we’re doing not just next month, the following month, but for the remainder of this entire year. That’s what will stop him."
In this speech Biden also states the U.S. would consider the use of chemical weapons
"Q Hi. Thank you, Mr. President. So you’ve warned about the real threat of chemical weapons being used. Have you gathered specific intelligence that suggests that President Putin is deploying these weapons, moving them to position, or considering their use?"
"And would the U.S. or NATO respond with military action if he did use chemical weapons?"
"THE PRESIDENT: You know, on the first question, I can’t answer that. I’m not going to give you intelligence data, number one."
"Number two, we would respond. We would respond if he uses it. The nature of the response would depend on the nature of the use."
...
"Q And to clarify, on chemical weapons: Could — if chemical weapons were used in Ukraine, would that trigger a military response from NATO?"
"THE PRESIDENT: It would re- — it would trigger a response in kind, whether or not — you’re asking whether NATO would cross; we’d make that decision at the time."
(Some people say the "in kind" remark indicates the use of other potential types of weapons as well)
National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan clarifies President Biden's statement about chemical weapon use:
"Q Jake, President Biden, at the press conference yesterday, said that if Russia uses chemical weapons in Ukraine, the United States and NATO will respond in kind, which would seem to imply using chemical weapons back. Is that what he meant by “in kind”? Or what was he trying to say there?"
"MS. SULLIVAN: No. No. And you heard him in another answer say we’ll respond accordingly — meaning, you know, we will select the form and nature of our response based on the nature of the action Russia takes, and we’ll do so in coordination with our Allies. And we’ve communicated to the Russians, as the President said publicly a couple of weeks ago, that there will be a severe price if Russia uses chemical weapons."
"And I won’t go beyond that other than to say the United States has no intention of using chemical weapons, period, under any circumstances."
Earth Future Action Note
Biden's statements on chemical warfare are a complete violation of the Chemical Weapons Convention.
Biden Calls For Regime Change
Remarks by President Biden in the Royal Castle in Warsaw Poland - March 26, 2022 (Whitehouse.gov)
In this speech, Biden stated the following: "For God’s sake, this man [Putin] cannot remain in power."
GOVERNMENT LINKS
U.S.: Whitehouse.gov The Briefing Room
Russia: Kremlin The Russian Foreign Ministry (These sites have been hacked on and off, so they might be down when you click the links)
The President of Ukraine's Twitter Facebook Official Website Official Website in English
UNITED NATIONS VOTE ON CONFLICT IN UKRAINE
World leaders voted overwhelmingly in favour of a United Nations General Assembly motion to demand an immediate end to the invasion of Ukraine. At an emergency session in New York on March 2nd, 2022, 141 of the 193 member states backed the motion condemning Russia’s decision to go to war with Ukraine. Just four countries joined Russia in opposing the call for the withdrawal of all occupying forces – Belarus, North Korea, Eritrea and Syria.
Which Countries Abstained From UN Vote on Ukraine? (Earth Future Action)
UN Vote on Human Rights Council
U.N. Votes to Suspend Russia From Human Rights Council (UN News, 4-7-22)
UN suspends Russia from human rights body: How your country voted (Aljazeera, 4-8-22)
The Developing World
Anti-Russia Alliance Is Missing a Big Bloc: The Developing World (The Wall Street Journal, 4-14-22)
SANCTIONS ARE A THREAT TO THE WORLD ECONOMY
We're not opposed to all sanctions. Sometimes sanctions are necessary. However, it is important to understand that sanctions have frequently led to war in history. Sanctions should be used sparingly. They are not the magic solution to everything.
The U.S. issuing harsher sanctions against Russia could threaten the whole world economy. America is currently the world's largest debtor. Meanwhile, Europe depends on Russian gas. American economic warfare against Russia could end up devastating the U.S. economy if it creates major shifts in world credit flows. After all, why trust America with your money if America will try to seize it any time it does not like your policies?
Sanctions against Russia will affect the economy of Western countries in a variety of ways. They will have effects against the auto industry, the tech industry, and the finance sector.
Sanctions could also cause a global food shortage.
See the following articles below for more information.
Sanctions on Russia ‘irresponsible’, adviser to Brazil’s Lula says (RT, 8-6-22)
Ukraine’s Grim Economic Toll From War Confronts World Governments (The Wall Street Journal, 4-23-22)
UN: War in Ukraine "supercharging" global crises (Axios, 4-14-22)
UN Report on the Effect of Ukraine War on Global Food Supply (UN, 2022)
The Economic Weapon: The Rise of Sanctions as a Tool of Modern War (Amazon Book)
Waltzing Toward Armageddon with the Merchants of Death (Chris Hedges, 3-14-22)
Inflation fears could limit the U.S. sanctions response to Russia’s Ukraine invasion (The New York Times, 2-24-22)
U.S. Sanctions Aimed at Russia Could Take a Wide Toll (New York Times, 1-29-22)
US sanctions on Russia affect defence, tech, finance (Aljazeera, 2-24-22)
EFFECTS OF SANCTIONS ON THE RUSSIAN PEOPLE
Previous experience shows that comprehensive sanctions isolate and impoverish the general population, while elites have the resources to evade or even exploit them, said Mark Taylor, a human rights expert who focuses on the economic dimensions of armed conflicts.
“There used to be this argument that comprehensive sanctions were a way to kind of impoverish the society that would eventually rise up and overthrow their bad leaders,” Taylor told openDemocracy. “That logic is gone. It’s just been proven to not work and actually strengthens the regimes in certainly anything like the medium term (Open Democracy).”
Sanctions against Russia are already having an impact on its economy. The ruble, Russia’s currency, has lost about a quarter of its value since the Ukraine invasion began. Lines have been stretching at some Russian ATMs as people try to withdraw their money. That’s driven fears about bank runs that made Moscow double interest rates to convince people to keep their money in bank deposits.
“It’s going to be very, very hard to continue to provide the daily needs of the Russian people, and it’s going to be even harder for the Russian people to be able to afford what they need,” said Globality CEO Joel Hyatt, whose company uses artificial intelligence to source business services. Russia imports a lot of food, chemicals and machinery, Hyatt said. All that, when paired with a currency in freefall, will even affect the cost of what Russia itself produces — like wheat for bread. There could be mass starvation in Russia. This has certainly been the case in past countries sanctioned by the U.S.
Economic Consequences of War (Counterpunch, 3-1-22)
What would Western sanctions mean for Russia? (Open Democracy, 2-8-22)
How sanctions could make life harder for Russian citizens (Marketplace, 2-28-22)
Mexico won't impose sanctions on Russia, López Obrador says (The Hill, 3-1-22)
DEATH TOLL OF SANCTIONS - LESSONS LEARNED FROM IRAQ
Iraq is a case study of what not to do when it comes to sanctions. Sanctions against Iraq have killed an estimated 1.7 million people, including 500,000 children.
Sanctions against Iraq began in 1990, four days after Iraq's invasion in Kuwait, and stayed largely in force until 2003. Initially, the sanctions were enacted to pressure Iraq into leaving Kuwait. However, the sanctions soon took on a new purpose: to get Iraq to comply with the cease fire terms listed in the UN Resolution 687, which included the elimination of its weapons of mass destruction and recognizing the sovereignty of Kuwait. However, throughout various stages of the sanctions, U.S. officials often stated that these sanctions would not be lifted until the regime of Saddam Hussein had ended.
The sanctions were not limited to military supplies. There were heavy sanctions on food and basic medical supplies for the Iraqi population.
Due to these sanctions, there were high rates of malnutrition and the spread of diseases. On May 2000, a United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) survey noted that almost half of the children under 5 years of age suffered from diarrhea.
In addition to damaging public health, these sanctions also caused lasting destruction in the fields of education and literacy. The overall literacy rate had been 78% in 1977, and 87% for adult women by 1985. At this point, Iraq had been one of the few countries in the Middle East that invested in women's education, but the situation changed dramatically during the sanctions.
The death rate of children under five doubled during the period of the sanctions. Many of these deaths were due to malnutrition and disease caused by a lack of food, basic medical supplies and clean water.
Sources:
Behind the War on Terror. Nafeez Mosaddeq Ahmed. 2003.
Iraq Sanctions Kill Children, U.N Reports (New York Times, 1995)
Related Links
Madeleine Albright Endorsed Killing Over 500,000 Children in Iraq (World Future Fund)