Dear CCI Friends,

Amidst much talk about how the war/special military operation in Ukraine might end

• crushing defeat (preferable to the West and Ukraine providing Russia is the defeated) or,
• stalemate (acceptable to the West as it keeps the war on life support and able to be revived at a moment’s notice, not a great way to live for Ukrainians or Russians) or,
• negotiated settlement (fraught with difficulties not the least being that the Ukrainian leadership will not negotiate with Russia and Russia would be foolish to trust the Ukrainian regime or any NATO representative at the negotiating table given recent experience) or,
• something else……….

nothing offers much hope for an end to the tragedy except the possibility of “something else.” And a vague wish for “something” to happen to end it sounds like a forlorn hope indeed.

But University of Rhode Island Professor of International Politics Nicolai N. Petro has offered us a “something else” alternative. Dr. Petro’s regional area of expertise is Russia and Ukraine and in this recent interview with Pascal Lottaz at Neutrality Studies he offers both a succinct summary of the difficulties of the present situation in Ukraine and a realistic, hopeful solution to conclude the hostilities and erase the bitterness that is sure to follow.

Please take time to see the video – it’s not long – and we would appreciate your thoughts on the reasonableness of Prof. Petro’s vision for peace.

Sincerely,

Paula Day, Director, CCI

Breaking Free: Ukraine Will Ditch Neocon Hawks, Strike Solo Peace with Russia! (youtube.com)

Dear CCI Friends,

There has been much attention directed towards the Tucker Carlson interview with Vladimir Putin.  Joe Lauria covers the key messages very succinctly.  To quote his conclusion,

“Putin was acting both to defend Donbass’ Russian speakers (who were under imminent renewed attack in February 2022) and also saw the opportunity to reunite the old imperial lands with Russia. That opportunity was seen in the Kremlin as a necessity because of the West’s rejection of Moscow’s diplomatic efforts to avoid conflict. 

Given the results of the four regional referendums in 2022, plus the one in Crimea in 2014, it is clear the people of those regions wanted to rejoin Russia after the coup and the revival of Ukrainian extremism. 

One can condemn or criticize revanchism, but one cannot call it imperialism. “

As always we welcome your thoughts and opinions.

The CCI Directors
Center for Citizen Initiatives

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Russian Imperialism

February 13, 2024
By Joe Lauria 

Tucker Carlson’s interview with Vladimir Putin points to the fundamental difference between imperialism and revanchism as Western critics purposely or ignorantly confuse the two to serve their interests.

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Dear CCI Friends,

Former US Ambassador to the Soviet Union Jack Matlock is a terrific resource on the history of US-Russia relations as they have progressed – or regressed – since 1991.  His intimate knowledge of the causes and consequences of the dissolution of the Soviet Union contrasts sharply with the popular view promoted here – that “We Won! They Lost! We Rule!”  Reality is subtler, more complicated and more interesting.  

The article below gives us Ambassador Matlock’s bird’s eye view of the negotiations that brought the USSR to an end as well as his astute speculation on how misreading – or deliberately mischaracterizing – that process for the past thirty years has brought us to the brink of nuclear war.  

I hope you appreciate it as I did – please let us know.

Sincerely,

Paula Day, Director
Center for Citizen Initiatives

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“The Christmas Gift That Keeps on Giving”

February, 2024

By Jack F. Matlock, Jr.

On December 24, 1989, Soviet Deputy Foreign Minister Ivan Aboimov informed me on behalf of the Soviet government, ‘We have given the Brezhnev Doctrine to you with our compliments. Consider it a Christmas gift.”

Now, some thirty-four years later, I should explain what the Brezhnev Doctrine was, the circumstances under which the gift was conveyed, and why I believe that it was a gift that has infused US foreign policy to this very day.

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* Please note: ‘1979’ in the last sentence should be ‘1989.’ Correction by Ambassador Matlock.

Dear CCI Friends,

The brief article below provides a glimpse of hope that life may return to more rational approaches.  The Slovakian Minister of Culture sums it up:

“There are dozens of military conflicts going on in the world, and, in our opinion, artists and culture must not suffer because of them.”

As always, we look forward to your thoughts.

Pamela, Paula and Krishen Center for Citizen Initiatives

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Signs of Light?

January 20, 2024

BRATISLAVA, January 20. /TASS/. Minister of Culture of Slovakia Martina Simkovicova cancelled the decree that suspended cultural cooperation with Russia and Belarus after February 24, 2022, Slovakia’s Pravda newspaper reported.

“There are dozens of military conflicts going on in the world, and, in our opinion, artists and culture must not suffer because of them,” the Minister said, according to her spokesman Pavol Corba.

In March of 2022, the Ministry of Culture of Slovakia banned contacts and cooperation with Russia and Belarus. Its former head, Natalia Milanova, representative of one of the liberal parties that lost power in the republic after the recent elections, justified it by the condemnation of the special military operation in Ukraine.

The incumbent Minister, who represents the Slovak National Party, cancelled her predecessor’s decree on January 12. According to the newspaper, it has lost effect since January 15.

[Continue Reading]

Dear CCI Friends and Colleagues,

In the following interview, Dmitry Polyanskiy, First Deputy, Permanent Representative of the Russian Federation to the United Nations, articulates Russia’s perspective on the relationship between itself and the West, particularly the United States.  

We understand that our CCI Community spans many perspectives and as always, we welcome your thoughts and insights.  

Best regards,

Paula, Pamela and Krishen  
Center for Citizen Initiatives

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Diplomacy and the UN

December 31, 2023

Video Interview: Russian Diplomacy at the UN – Dmitry Polyanskiy, Alexander Mercouris & Glenn Diesen