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Why Negotiations With Russia Seem So Difficult
The American Conservative ^ | 7/13/25 | George O'Neill

Posted on 07/13/2025 12:47:23 PM PDT by EnderWiggin1970

Russia is more than a millennium old with a long diplomatic history. Some of Russia’s difficulty may come from the U.S. elites’ ignorance of Russian history and its sensitivities to real or perceived threats of foreign invasion. Many Americans remember the huge drama which arose during the Kennedy presidency when the Soviets put a few missiles in Cuba. Foreign policy wonks still talk about how close we came to World War III.

Americans who do not know or acknowledge Russia’s history are unable to understand Russian thinking, thus compromising their ability to consummate agreements with Russia.

After the collapse of the Soviet Union, the U.S. political elites promised not to move NATO east into former Warsaw Pact countries. Every time another former Warsaw Pact nation was added into NATO, the Russians complained and the West shrugged off the complaints. They believed Russia was too weak due to their struggle to recover from the ruinous Soviet years. Washington’s attitude was, “So what are you going to do about it?”

U.S. leaders also have spent years engaging ad nauseam in threats to weaken or break up Russia, to ruin the Russian economy, to change the Russian regime—and, of course, have levied decades of never-ending sanctions. This behavior has eroded the trust necessary to negotiate in good faith.

(Excerpt) Read more at theamericanconservative.com ...


TOPICS: Foreign Affairs; Government; Russia; Ukraine
KEYWORDS: nato; putinthewarpig; russia; russiansuicide; russiantrollfarm; ukraine; vladtheimploder; war
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To: Right_Wing_Madman

“Today, it would be more advantageous for the US to ally with Russia against Europe”

Not necessarily against Europe, although Europe needs to BEHAVE a bit if they want us as friends again (during the Cold War they were free countries, now the UK is arresting something like 50 Brits a day for social media posts).

But definitely it would have been good to have Russia on our side, or at least neutral, regarding China and North Korea. But the Neocons BLEW THAT ONE too!


21 posted on 07/13/2025 1:17:30 PM PDT by BobL
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To: A strike

Nice anti Trump tagline you have there.
Vomit.


22 posted on 07/13/2025 1:18:12 PM PDT by Williams (Thank God for the election of President Trump!)
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To: BobL

Earth to Russia apologists.
Trump just spent months complimenting Putin and trying to get Russia to work with us.

But keep playing pretend.

I’ll rely on Trump’s judgment.


23 posted on 07/13/2025 1:19:39 PM PDT by Williams (Thank God for the election of President Trump!)
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To: Williams

No one takes you seriously here regarding Russia.


24 posted on 07/13/2025 1:20:39 PM PDT by BobL
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To: EnderWiggin1970

The Russian Federation and Vladimir Putin might not be practicing Communists any longer, but they are all still Russian, and their mindset going back to Ivan the Terrible remains the same, somewhere between highly suspicious of outsiders to completely paranoid. This is not like trying to herd common domestic cats, it is more like keeping control of a cage full of full-grown cougars.


25 posted on 07/13/2025 1:21:01 PM PDT by alloysteel (Try to understand, God is not finished with me yet. Still lots of room for improvement.)
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To: BobL

Another incorrect statement on your part.

See my tagline? THAT’S a conservative MAGA American tagline.

Anyone that chooses Russia over Trump is worthless.

Prove me wrong.


26 posted on 07/13/2025 1:22:42 PM PDT by Williams (Thank God for the election of President Trump!)
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To: EnderWiggin1970
One excellent movie about Russian History is Sergei Eisenstein's Alexander Nevsky The Mosfilm
print on Youtube is gorgeous, pristine. This is a wonderful movie about Russia repelling
the invasion of the Teutonic Knights. The film score is magnificent, by Sergei Prokofiev, and is
considered among the top film scores of all time. A must see, and hear!



27 posted on 07/13/2025 1:22:43 PM PDT by Governor Dinwiddie ( O give thanks unto the Lord, for He is gracious, and his mercy endures forever. — Psalm 106)
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To: Williams

Why are you so proud of headup@$$ ?


28 posted on 07/13/2025 1:23:28 PM PDT by A strike (unfortunately PDJT is continuing the UKUS v Russia war)
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To: Governor Dinwiddie

Lenin and Trotsky would have wanted no part of bringing up Russian Nationalist Heroes like Nevsky, or Ivan The Terrible.

Stalin was different, which is why many Russians today think of Stalin as a Russian Nationalist, despite his Georgian background.


29 posted on 07/13/2025 1:24:16 PM PDT by dfwgator (Endut! Hoch Hech!)
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To: dfwgator
Good point. It's easy to overlook that Stalin was Georgian.

30 posted on 07/13/2025 1:28:19 PM PDT by Governor Dinwiddie ( O give thanks unto the Lord, for He is gracious, and his mercy endures forever. — Psalm 106)
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To: Williams

Earth to Williams:
Trump cannot be a neutral negotiator because the US is part of the conflict.


31 posted on 07/13/2025 1:29:34 PM PDT by A strike (unfortunately PDJT is continuing the UKUS v Russia war)
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To: Williams

Not an anti Trump tag,
acknowledgement of fact.


32 posted on 07/13/2025 1:33:32 PM PDT by A strike (unfortunately PDJT is continuing the UKUS v Russia war)
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To: Williams

“See my tagline?”

You’re welcome to look at Trump as some IDOL that never does anything wrong (based on your tagline), but that’s not MAGA.

MAGA is a set of VALUES and IDEAS that Trump came closest to us (by far) and ran on. Two of these were releasing the Epstein documents and ending the Ukraine War in 24 hours, or at least not dragging us into another forever war.

Trump hasn’t given us either...so we MAGA people are not happy about these 180 flips. That’s all, very simple.

And, by the way, does being mad about the Epstein Documents not being released also mean we support Putin? By your standards, that seems to be the case, since you bring up “Putin” just every time you post something here.


33 posted on 07/13/2025 1:34:55 PM PDT by BobL
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To: EnderWiggin1970

At the bottom of this is a 200 year long project keeping Germany from accessing Russian resources. The biggest failure was Molotov Ribbentrop. The latest manifestation is bombing of Nordstream II.


34 posted on 07/13/2025 1:41:41 PM PDT by frithguild (The warmth and goodness of Gaia is a nuclear reactor in the Earth's core that burns Thorium)
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To: EnderWiggin1970

Russia arrived at this war at their final red line. We lurched forward with one push, one shove, one insult, and one sanction after another, and now they are at their actual existential red line and will not fall back anymore.
This means that they are impervious to charm, bluster, cussing, art of the deal, more empty promises, etc.

They truly literally mean, no NATO or NATO-light for Ukraine, no nazis on their border, no western ownership of Crimea and Donbass, and no ethnic cleansing.
DC and London simply cannot accept that someone actually means what they have said. Simple as that.


35 posted on 07/13/2025 1:42:25 PM PDT by DesertRhino (2016 Star Wars, 2020 The Empire Strikes Back, 2025... RETURN OF THE JEDI….There’s really not much to)
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To: BobL

“We MAGA people”?

Now that is funny.

Stay anti Trump. That’s on you.


36 posted on 07/13/2025 1:43:59 PM PDT by Williams (Thank God for the election of President Trump!)
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To: A strike

Why do Russia apologists play with reality so much.

“I’m not anti Trump I just love Russia so much I’m turning on Trump”.

Have fun with that fantasy.


37 posted on 07/13/2025 1:45:42 PM PDT by Williams (Thank God for the election of President Trump!)
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To: Williams

“Stay anti Trump. That’s on you.”

Call me what you will, as I said, I support MAGA, and MAGA wanted a quick end to the Ukraine War, or at least our involvement in it.


38 posted on 07/13/2025 1:46:08 PM PDT by BobL
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To: DesertRhino

Wow we really are evil and we really didn’t listen to Russia stamp its filthy feet!

Get over the infatuation with scummy Russia. Tiresome.


39 posted on 07/13/2025 1:47:17 PM PDT by Williams (Thank God for the election of President Trump!)
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To: BobL

I just did.


40 posted on 07/13/2025 1:47:38 PM PDT by Williams (Thank God for the election of President Trump!)
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