Posted on 02/24/2024 5:59:01 AM PST by SpeedyInTexas
I don’t know how accurate recent comments quoting our current leader may be, but that leader had a chance to nip all this recent fighting in the bud back in 2016, shortly after the enemy had begun invasion of eastern Ukraine and seizure of Crimea in 2014. Talk about opportunities ignored, neglected, or lost! Blaming the problems on neglect after 2021 is SO pot calling the kettle black. I just hope our resident Russia reporter is writing wrong.
Europe provides a counteroffer to the 28 point opening gambit. Getting the players engaged, and the negotiations underway.
Kyiv Independent (23 Nov):
“U.S. President Donald Trump is “quite pleased” with the progress made at ongoing peace talks in Geneva, Switzerland, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Nov. 23, as Europe issued a counterproposal to a U.S.-backed peace plan that heavily favored Russia...
...Rubio noted the peace plan is a “living, breathing document” and is still subject to change as peace talks continue.
“Just because it’s printed on a piece of paper doesn’t indicate finality, so you get input, and based on that input, you make adjustments, and then you get more input,” he said.
Trump, on Nov. 22, said the initial peace proposal was not Washington’s final offer to Ukraine amid widespread concern that Ukraine was being rushed into an unfavorable agreement.
The initially imposed deadline of Nov. 27 could also be extended by several days, Rubio said, adding that he feels “optimistic” that a consensus will be reached “in a very reasonable period of time, very soon.”...
...In a joint statement released on Nov. 23, the U.S. and Ukraine described the opening round of consultations as productive and said they were encouraged by the pace of progress...
...Reuters reported that the counterproposal would see Ukraine’s military capped at 800,000 troops in peacetime rather than 600,000 in the initial peace plan.
Ukraine joining NATO falls on consensus among the alliance’s members, which does not exist, the reported proposal stipulates, while also prohibiting NATO from permanently stationing troops on the territory of Ukraine under its command in peacetime.
The new peace proposal drops recognition of Russia’s occupation of Ukraine’s territories. The initial plan stipulated that Luhansk and Donetsk oblasts, which make up the Donbas region, would be internationally recognized as belonging to Russia.
“All civilian detainees and hostages will be returned, including children,” the proposed peace plan stipulates, as reported by Reuters.
The counterproposal also calls for U.S.—backed security guarantees that mirror NATO’s Article 5, which, when invoked, considers an attack on one member an attack on all members. NATO’s Article 5 is a defining feature of the alliance.
Several Ukrainian concessions are retained in the counterproposal, which allows Russia to rejoin the Group of Eight, which currently operates as the Group of Seven without Moscow’s participation.
Europe’s counterproposal, as reported by Reuters, also sees the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant fall under international control, with produced electricity divided between Ukraine and Russia.”
“Russia’s Central Bank Starts Selling Physical Gold From Reserves”
Physical Russian gold, apparently from reserves (above their new production quantities) has been notably hitting the market in Hong Kong, India and Dubai since last year (2024).
I wonder what is really happening, that is causing them to now admit to it?
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