American Officials Concede Peace Talks Would Have Been Better, Finds Politico

Aug. 19, 2023, 2022 (EIRNS)—Politico reported yesterday that anonymous American officials now concede that they may have “missed a window” to push for peace talks between Russia and Ukraine, and that Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley “had a point” when he offered a grim pronouncement on Kiev’s chances for victory last year. “We may have missed a window to push for earlier talks,” a U.S. official said, adding that “Milley had a point.” Milley had said last November that a military victory would likely be unachievable for Ukraine, and that Kiev could use the wintertime pause in fighting to enter negotiations with Moscow and avoid any further losses.

Politico’s take is that President Joe Biden and Secretary of State Antony Blinken have vehemently rejected negotiations, against the suggestions of some members of the military and intelligence agencies. Another anonymous official told Politico that the Biden administration is increasingly asking itself “If we acknowledge we’re not going to do this forever, then what are we going to do?”

Last week, Milley told the Washington Post: “If the end state is ‘Ukraine is a free, independent, sovereign country with its territory intact’ ... that’s going to take a long, long time, but you can also achieve those objectives—maybe, possibly—through some sort of diplomatic means.”