Dear CCI Friends and Colleagues:
 
At this critical stage in the quest for peace in Ukraine, and the unfolding saga in Europe where many of its leaders want to keep the war going till the last Ukrainian, we felt that the interview between Richard Sakwa and James Carden would be important to share with you. 
 
https://usrussiaaccord.org/acura-qa-richard-sakwa-trumps-perestroika/ 
 
Richard Sakwa is Professor of Russian and European Politics at the University of Kent in the UK. He has published widely on Soviet, Russian, European and post-communist affairs. Books include The Crisis of Russian Democracy: The Dual State, Factionalism and the Medvedev Succession (Cambridge University Press, 2011), Putin and the Oligarch: The Khodorkovsky – Yukos Affair (London and New York, I. B. Tauris, 2014) and Putin Redux: Power and Contradiction in Contemporary Russia (London and New York, Routledge, 2014). His latest book is Frontline Ukraine: Crisis in the Borderlands, which was published in 2016. He is currently working on Russia against the Rest: The Crisis of the Post-Cold War International System.
 
James Carden is senior adviser to ACURA (American Committee for US Russia Accord). He previously served as an advisor to the US-Russia Bilateral Presidential Commission and to the Special Representative for Intergovernmental Affairs at the US State Department. A contributing editor and columnist at The American Conservative and a contributing writer for foreign affairs at The Nation,  his articles have appeared in publications on the left, right, and center including The Quincy Institute’s Responsible Statecraft, The Washington Post, The Guardian, The Los Angeles Times, The Spectator, Quartz, among many others.
 
In this interview, Sakwa and Carden reflect on the quest for peace by the US which is being opposed by many European countries, even against the wishes of their own people. It is ironic that in spite of so much death and destruction, many of the so-called leaders in the Collective West wish to keep the war going. The implications of this, and some pathways forward for all parties concerned, are discussed in this thoughtful, engaging, and timely interview. 
 
We welcome your thoughts on this critical subject.
 
Regards, 
Paula Day and Krishen Mehta, Directors CCI

Dear CCI Friends,

Jack F. Matlock, Jr., our friend who served as U.S. Ambassador to the USSR from 1987-1991, was a participant in the negotiations which assured Soviet President Gorbachev that NATO would not move to the east if the Soviets would agree to the reunification of East and West Germany.  He speaks plainly and clearly about how the West’s renunciation of that policy provoked the conflict in Ukraine.  

Now, after three bloody years of needless waste of life and treasure, we may be looking at the possibility of an end to that conflict.  Please read the following by Ambassador Matlock; it gives us hope.

“…anyone interested in peace rather than the threat of nuclear war should be congratulating President Trump.After all, if the war does end and Russia is brought back into cooperative economic relations with Europe and the United States, everyone will benefit. If the war and the attempted isolation of Russia continues, all will suffer and cooperation to deal with common problems such as environmental degradation, mass migration and international financial crime will become impossible.

I say this not as a Trump supporter — I did not vote for him and have been critical of most of his moves. But in regard to the war in Ukraine and relations with Russia, I believe he is on the right track.”https://responsiblestatecraft.org/trump-ukraine-zelensky/

For reference, here is a timeline of the conflict created by Joe Lauria, editor of Consortium News.

We welcome your comments.

The Center for Citizen Initiatives

Dear CCI Friends,

Professor Jeffrey Sachs appeared before the European Parliament recently where he delivered a speech as shocking to the audience as the one given by Vice President Vance to the Munich Security Conference a few days before that.   Will Professor Sachs’ observations, based on extensive experience, shock an American audience, too?

A full transcript and audio version of his speech are attached below.  Please give his remarks your consideration and let us know what you think.  

“It’s impolite to say anything that I’m saying because we don’t speak the truth about almost anything in this world right now.”

https://singjupost.com/transcript-jeffrey-sachs-on-the-geopolitics-of-peace-in-the-european-parliament

Sincerely,
The Center for Citizen Initiatives

Dear CCI Friends,

Based on his professional research, Professor Glenn Diesen of Norway has spoken and written extensively on the Russia/USA relationship over the past twenty years. His analysis is counter to the ‘official narrative’ we in the West have been exposed to. Today we, in the US,  are beginning to see and appreciate the actual source of that narrative.  

Professor Diesen has paid a very high price for academic independence.  His experience should be a cautionary tale for all who value free speech – and peace.

“…the purge of academic freedom…”

https://glenndiesen.substack.com/p/usaid-and-ngos-for-narrative-control

“….propaganda is good for war but bad for peace.”

https://glenndiesen.substack.com/p/the-science-of-anti-russian-propaganda

Book Club with Jeffrey Sachs – an interview with Glenn Diesen who has been kicked off of Youtube for promoting “hate speech.”

Please share your thoughts on this critical subject.

The Center for Citizen Initiatives

Dear CCI Friends,

February 4-11, marked the 80th anniversary of the Yalta Conference where Joseph Stalin, Franklin Roosevelt and Winston Churchill met to thrash out the peace terms that would end the bloodiest conflict in history, World War II.  Virtually nothing marking this anniversary appeared in the Western press which is too bad; that event might serve as a reminder of what people (‘leaders’) who dislike and distrust one another (even if they are ‘allies’) can accomplish when they have the courage to sit down together in the interest of peace.

History, as Mark Twain may or may not have said, rarely repeats itself but it does rhyme.  Stephen Bryen’s article, below, explores some of those vague rhymes discernable in the tortuous road – not to peace, yet, but – to the terms that allow the combatants and enablers to talk about  how to talk about peace in Ukraine.  

“The Trump administration probably cannot negotiate a comprehensive deal for Ukraine immediately and will need to come up with an initial solution to try and halt the fighting. Doing so is a rocky road ahead, partly because the Russians have zero trust in anything coming from the west, partly because the Ukrainians are unwilling partners, and partly because Europe wants to continue the war.” (Emphasis mine.)

https://weapons.substack.com/p/the-rocky-road-to-a-ukraine-deal

Can we imagine a Yalta II?  Please give us your thoughts.

Sincerely in Peace,
Paula Day
Center for Citizen Initiatives