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© Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.Kremlin sees a diplomatic path on Ukraine
By VLADIMIR ISACHENKOV and YURAS KARMANAU MOSCOW©2025 GPlusMedia Inc.
31 Comments
Yrral
It not everyday a rat set, his own trap, Google Putin Cornered By Rat
Michael Machida
Puty is Pouty. What a joke he is. Wants the West to back off. Really?
Desert Tortoise
Mr. Putin is looking for a graceful exit. The situation has not unfolded as he expected and now doesn't quite know what to do. Turkey has already set up shop building their highly effective drones in Ukraine. The Russians had a very bad experience with them taking out their air defense systems in eastern Libya. They will face them again if they invade Ukraine. Unlike 2014 Ukraine is unified and ready to fight. They are not as weak as they were in 2014 and unlike 2014 they are prepared for the Russians. Their equipment and training are better. They train with NATO forces regularly. Their T-84 tanks now carry the German Rhinemetal gun and use NATO ammunition. They have a lot of high quality US and UK anti tank missiles. The Russians also might be thinking about what happened to the Soviets in 1939 when they took a beating trying and failing to invade Finland. There are many parallels to the Soviet debacle invading Finland and a Russian invasion of Ukraine.
PTownsend
Of course he does, he like other big oil monopolists before him wants no one to compete with him and his control over gas and its shipments. He's John David Rockefeller incarnate, the difference is Putin knows he has no one to check him without fear of another war breaking out, and who knows whether he's willing to risk that.
A major difference between Putin and Rockefeller is Rockefeller established his own private monopoly, whereas Putin used the power of his political position to take control over a corporation. and restrict competition. Another difference is Rockefeller used his personal money to help many causes, including health and education, while Putin just taps the public coffers.
The Avenger
RIP Russia.
starpunk
They also need to look at the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in late 1979. They got bogged down there, that place was a 'Soviet Vietnam' war. It took a lot out of them.
The Ukraine is better armed and ready than they were in 2014. Obama imposed sanctions on Russia which were lifted when Russian cyberhackers installed a puppet into the WH two years later.
It's different now. Say what you will about Joe, but he is no sputnik. If he slaps sanctions on Russia again, they can and will hurt them hard. Just give it time.
Busby
And this was due to the nuanced and effective foreign policy by the Biden administration - joining our allies for a coordinated response, telegraphing Moscow's next move with key releases, and communicating to Putin behind the scenes of the tremendous cost if he proceeded...
Thank goodness the 2020 coup didn't work - Trump and Pompeo would have surrendered to Russia by now, just as they did to the Taliban - and Putin would be having dinner in Kyiv today...
Peter Neil
When Khrushchev started putting missiles in Cuba, the US freaked out. It’s OK to surround Russia with missiles, though.
When the UK and US overthrew the democracy in Iran to install their dictator so they could put spy and put arms next to Russia, that was OK.
When the US supported Iraq against Iran, that was OK, until the US needed someone to invade as vengeance for 9/11, even though Iraq had nothing to do with it, that was OK.
Ukraine is in a domestic crisis from opposing factions, and the US couldn’t defeat a bunch of guys in Toyota trucks.
How about the US fixes its own domestic problems and stop worrying about Europe? Let Europe do something… for once.
stormcrow
Russian foreign diplomacy:
“Let us enslave you. Then we’ll be satisfied.”
Alfie Noakes
No, it was a coup funded by the US, organized by the CIA and carried out by Ukrainian neo-Nazis.
https://jacobinmag.com/2022/02/maidan-protests-neo-nazis-russia-nato-crimea
OssanAmerica
Putin is following normal Russian negotiating tactic, point a gun at someone's head and demand your terms.
Richard Gallagher
The willingness of the Biden administration to launch WW3 is more than simply disconcerting. A slew of propaganda, false statements and belligerence is not only unwarranted, but quite mad.
There are no Russian preparations for war, scheduled according to one of the less-than-esteemed yuppies in the WH, for Wednesday, with film already in the can and awaiting release - the so-called False Flag Operation (at which he USA excels). Nor does Russia require such, if the intent is to invade, Russia will invade without pretense - in fact the stationing of US troops is a purposeful & intentional antagonism looking to solicit a response - it ha naught to do with defending a NATO ally - the Ukraine is not a member of NATO and Russia is not going to invade Poland.
The so-called massing of troops is insufficient for an invasion, as is the number of aircraft, field hospitals and the like. Mapping illustrations claiming to evidence of imminent attack are continually marked with the word 'probability' and less than convincing.
As for the USA, under the pretense of NATO, willing to risk war in Europe, it bespeaks to an immeasurable belligerence. And questions the very sanity of any possible motive.
starpunk
Trump is Putin's puppet. He always whined 'I can do what I want' which meant giving US forces locations to Putin, bombing Syrian airfields after the Russians pulled their jets out, secret meetings with Putin in Helsinki, saying nothing when his master paid the Taliban bounties on US soldier dead.
Russia is guilty of committing cyberwar against several nations over the years, including the U.S.A. America has the same capabilities and we have used them before.
Alex
He hasn't even made an entrance yet and the western media is already freaking out.
CaptDingleheimer
I bet when Putin and his inner circle get together to talk about this stuff, they dress up in second-hand Adidas tracksuits and pointy leather shoes and squat in the courtyard in the Kremlin smoking cigarettes and slugging some swill that could take the varnish off an old piece of furniture.
WilliB
Michael Machida
Yes, really. The West absolutely has to back off. This whole irresponsible warmongering against Russia is indefensible and misguide.
Expanding Nato right to the border and putting missiles there.... what happened to the understanding Gorbach that this sort of thing would never happen once the SU was dissolved?
Is it OK if Putin puts missiles into Cuba? Our politicians and media would applaud that'? I seem to remember differently.
WilliB
Farmboy
How about removing Nato from Ukraine?
(And neither Russian ships nor troops are "around" Ukraine. Take a look at a map before opining.)
bass4funk
Worse.
And then China will come in and fill the gap. And once again Biden got checkmated.
bass4funk
He killed a dozen Russians in Syria but he’s Putin’s puppet?? And the left seriously believes that crap? Wow!
Funny and not a single bomb dropped or US servicemen sent to die and for the first time in 20 years. Yeah, Trump was unpredictable and that’s what made his adversaries more cautious in their approach to understanding and dealing with the man, whereas Biden we see none of that, as if Putin fears Biden. Not even in the slightest.
So why are we not using them now? Why were the military shocked when they found out about China’s hypersonic missile? Why won’t Biden support and put all of his resources into rebuilding the military and making that his prime goal? Why is he not forcefully aggressive enough? Again, Putin will do what he wants to do because he sees a very weak president and the same goes for China. These people are not dumb, they’re shrewd, smart and sharp as a needle and they read the news in the exact what’s going on and they’re just laughing at this president.
Busby
More outright Putin-love from our far-right friends...
They don't even try to hide it anymore - I guess they're just following in the footsteps of Russia-worshipper Tucker "Comrade" Carlson....
Certainly confirms their lack of patriotism and love of country...unless that country's capital is Moscow....
bass4funk
No, just asking a legitimate question, you’re making childish statements now.
Not far-right, just conservative.
Blaming Tucker for asking legitimate questions and keep throwing out the incomprehensible logic that if you don’t support Biden, you are a Putin lover it’s just not only wrong, but it shows the length that the left will go to in order to not have a serious dialogue, it’s easier to just shout out weird adjectives
Sorry, we love our country, that’s the reason why 70% of the country is against us, and still we are waiting for a decent answer to the questions, all of this loving Putin we are a fan of Putin, it’s not helpful in the conversation, it just makes you guys look weak and unable to answer, no one is a fan of Putin, but we want to know going to war for the Ukraine, how does it help US interests? How old out lower gas prices in food costs and closing up the border?
Peter14
The Russians were putting NUCLEAR missiles in Cuba and yes that freaked out the US.
NATO is putting air defense missiles in it's territory and that is a completely different deterrent and much less deadly. Do not act like it is the same threat level.
The US had nothing to do with it. The People used their voice and threw out the fake leader from the rigged elections. But hey its always fashionable to blame America for everything isn't it.
The Ukraine forces are not at the border with Russia as the Russian separatists are parked there and are keeping the Ukrainians away from their own border region. The Ukrainians are attempting to reassert their sovereignty over their own territory and guard the border like all nations do.
And yet it is Putin who is actually moving to start a conflict against its sovereign neighbor with no provocation other than it "may" someday join NATO which every nation has the right to do, including Russia. Moving 130,000 troops to a position to invade a peaceful country is what is quite mad.
Russia's outright warmongering against NATO and the West is off the rails as is his threatening invasion of the Ukraine. Putin the maniac has lost his marbles and is a danger to his own people, to Europe and the world. Someone in the Kremlin with an ounce of sense must remove Putin from power and get Russia on a path of peace and normalcy. Russia can not be allowed to force other nations to do it's bidding, against their will. Disgraceful Russia, turning criminal before the worlds very eyes. And so many posters defending Putin is just as much a disgrace.
happyhere
The path to a peaceful solution is to get the US to butt out instead of inflaming the situation.
Use Minsk 2 as the starting point and work from there.
European problem, Europeans can find the solution.