Wait a second . . . where’s Peskov? Dmitry, are you there? Dima? Okay, it is August; maybe he’s just on holiday. I hope so, because I miss seeing his face when these declarations are issued from the Kremlin. His delivery, the twinkle in his eyes when he spouts the official line du jour . . . Well, nobody does it like Dima.

But on Monday we were treated to the presence of Russian presidential aide — and former (1998-2008) Russian Ambassador to the United States — Yuri Ushakov presenting us with the latest stand on peace talks between Russia and Ukraine. And that stand, in words of two syllables or fewer, is this:

“At this stage, given this venture (Kursk), we will not talk.” [Reuters, August 19, 2024.]

Well, no surprise there. Since Ukraine’s unexpected foray into Russian territory at Kursk on August 6th, things have not gone well for Vladimir Putin — not only militarily, but also in terms of his personal reputation as protector of the Motherland. He was caught completely unaware and unprepared, and has had to deal with two weeks (so far) of Ukraine’s successful attacks, placing Russia on the defensive and necessitating the unplanned shifting of troops from some of their offensive positions.

How annoying! How inconvenient! How humiliating!

According to Ambassador Ushakov, however, talks have not been permanently deep-sixed. Asked if Putin’s earlier peace talk proposals were now off the table, he replied:

“No, they have not been cancelled. But at this point, of course, it would be completely inappropriate to enter into any kind of negotiation process.” [Id.]

Sounds like stalling to me. I would imagine they’re having a bit of difficulty in the Kremlin, trying to figure out what to do next. Maybe they should try reversing direction . . .

Just sayin’ . . .

Brendochka
8/21/24