Certainly time for (perhaps well past time for) prayers! Alas, many of the 'chickenhawks' in gubmint (and some FReepers, unfortunately) DO want war with Russia. I am very disappointed that so many FReepers are absolutely blind to the existential threat that the WEF fascists, who control MANY gubmints, pose to humanity. Sad!
https://mid.ru/ru/foreign_policy/news/1844336/
19.12.2022 13:46
Russian Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Maria Zakharova’s response to a media question in connection with State Department Press Secretary N. Price’s statement about Russia’s “guilt” in the deterioration of Russian-American relations
2591-19-12-2022
Question: How could you comment on State Department spokesman Nikolai Price’s statement in an interview that the Biden administration was trying to build more stable and predictable relations with Russia, which allegedly made them “more unstable and unpredictable.”
Answer: I will say right away that this is a false construction, which can be easily corrected if the United States and Russia are reversed. Of course, we had no illusions from the start, but we sincerely strove to find common ground even in the face of confrontation constantly fomented by Washington in order to make Russian-American relations stable and predictable.
It was the desire of the United States to maintain American hegemony at all costs, ignoring the new geopolitical realities, as well as the arrogant unwillingness to conduct a serious dialogue on security guarantees, that led to a natural result. After the high-profile fiasco in Afghanistan, America is increasingly drawn into a new conflict, not only supporting the neo-Nazi regime in Kyiv with finances and weapons, but also increasing its military presence “on the ground.”
This is a dangerous and short-sighted policy that brings the US and Russia to the brink of a direct confrontation. In turn, Moscow calls on the George Biden administration to take a sober assessment of the situation and not unleash a dangerous escalation spiral. We hope that Washington will hear us, although there are no grounds for optimism yet.
Rhetorical assurances of good intentions, constantly heard from the American side in the intervals between threats and “five minutes of hatred”, by definition, cannot be the basis for an equal dialogue. Especially in combination with the fact that American officials do not hesitate to lie tritely that Secretary of State E. Blinken is in contact “with his colleague S. V. Lavrov.” For reference, the last time they spoke by phone was on July 29, and at subsequent international forums the head of American diplomacy ran away from our Minister so as not to cross paths with him and get into the frame.
Russia is interested in reducing tension and agreeing on the principles of peaceful coexistence based on strict reciprocity. We do not refuse to communicate with the United States at various levels, but for at least minimal progress, we need a counter movement that requires political will, open-minded thinking and a willingness to negotiate honestly, without a double bottom. And this is exactly what is completely absent now in Washington.