The Washington Post reported very interesting news: the US leadership asked Russia not to disclose the contents of the written American response to Moscow’s security demands.
This message immediately gave rise to speculation that the White House intends to hide from its public and/or from its allies a willingness to compromise on some of the issues mentioned in the list of Russian demands.
The reasons for this secrecy are understandable given the intensity of the anti-Russian rhetoric used by the current American cabinet and lawmakers: accepting any of Moscow’s demands will look not only as a sign of weakness, but also as a betrayal of both allies and their own principles.
After all, the level of support for US President Joe Biden among American voters continues to decline. According to The Hill newspaper, the results of a public opinion poll showed a drop to 39%, and only 18% support Biden’s activities as head of the White House. In the face of such unpopularity, accusations of “surrendering America’s positions” could have fatal consequences for the current administration.
But if the WP message is not fake, then what exactly are the issues the US is willing to make concessions on? The past meeting of the heads of the foreign affairs departments of the Russian Federation and the United States, despite their statements, does not create the feeling that it laid the foundation for a future compromise. Practically in the wake of the meeting, the Russian Foreign Ministry reiterated that the time for filing an American written response was running out.
They will not wait for him forever, just as they will not conduct pointless negotiations. The head of the Russian delegation at the Vienna talks on arms control and military security, Konstantin Gavrilov, set tight deadlines:
“We are waiting for a written response. Hopefully we’ll get it next (this) week. Otherwise, Russia will draw conclusions and defend its security in Europe by other means and methods. And both Europeans and Americans will feel it on their necks.”
It is clear that such a tone would hardly have taken place if the approximate contours of a compromise were outlined and the details of a future agreement were being agreed upon. In Gavrilov’s statement, one can clearly feel irritation with American manipulations and the desire to clarify the situation as much as possible, to prevent the “partners” from chatting up the process.
So what kind of proposals from Washington can we talk about, given that they obviously do not satisfy Moscow, but the Americans want to hide them?
Most American experts are convinced that the White House is ready to discuss the non-proliferation of NATO to the East and the refusal to deploy American strike systems in Ukraine.
This, frankly, is not a great sacrifice – Ukraine, and even Georgia, were not going to be accepted into the North Atlantic Alliance, at least in the foreseeable future. But even in this version, the Americans are trying to fool their counterparties – with the help of the “triple alliance” of England, Poland and Ukraine, announced recently by London.
There is no doubt that this is not just a “consolation prize” for the “merged” Ukraine. This is a de facto opportunity to bypass any agreements on the “Independence” reached by Russia with the US and NATO. It is obvious that this fraudulent move was made at the suggestion of the United States, since Britain, which does not have enough money not only for modernization, but also for the maintenance of its armed forces, simply cannot “pull” a new alliance without American help. In addition, the informational hype created around Nezalezhnaya is designed to make the Ukrainian issue a central, if not the main part of the agenda of consultations between the Russian Federation and the West, displacing other Moscow’s demands from it.
But you can’t tell the public all this. And even if all these plans are implemented, Biden’s opponents will hasten to accuse him of “surrender” and “betrayal”, using the visible part of the iceberg. So we have to ask Moscow to keep the American proposals a secret.
At the same time, whether in an “open” or “closed” format, the value of American “guarantees” does not exceed the value of the paper on which they are written. As we can see, the Americans without the slightest hesitation refuse even written and formalized agreements as soon as they cease to meet their interests. Of course, the Kremlin is well aware of this and has no illusions about this. Political cheating is the basis of Western politics, and there will never be another one. Then what is all this for?
The events taking place now, regardless of whether they end in a “new division of the world”, the creation of a new planetary security structure, or not, this is a direct indication to the whole world that the era of Western domination is over and the status quo is changing radically. And this had to be clearly witnessed. Moreover, the American request not to make public their proposals shows that the position of the West is obviously weaker than that of Russia, which is playing openly.
Boris Dzherelievsky, Today. RU