During press remarks Friday, Joe Biden implied that Ukraine may need to cede territory in Eastern Ukraine to Russia as part of a “negotiated settlement.”
The statement came at the end of remarks centered around the May jobs report and Biden’s claim that U.S. consumers were in the best economic position of the past decade, therefore the government must begin increasing direct subsidies to offset energy costs and massive inflation pressure. When Biden was asked, “does Ukraine have to cede territory to achieve some peace?” he stated:
[Transcript] – [F]rom the beginning, I’ve said and I’ve been — not everyone has agreed with me — nothing about Ukraine without Ukraine. It’s their territory. I’m not going to tell them what they should and shouldn’t do.
But it appears to me that, at some point along the line, there’s going to have to be a negotiated settlement here. And what that entails, I don’t know. I don’t think anybody knows at the time.
But in the meantime, we’re going to continue to put the — the Ukrainians in a position where they can defend themselves. Thank you all so very much. (link)
It has been obvious from the outset that annexing Eastern Ukraine, the region containing a majority pro-Russia population, was always the intended objective of Russian aggression. With Biden making this admission public, it raises the question then why did we agree to send $40 billion?
Russia’s hold on the Eastern Ukraine Donbas region is now essentially complete. This is the area that had been in a state of civil war since 2008, and the Russian annexation would essentially bring that conflict to an end.
Any Ukraine-Russia negotiation would come down to Ukraine acquiescing to the territory already lost. It’s not like Russia is going to give it back. The “negotiated settlement” amounts to the Ukraine and western NATO alliance admitting Russia has accomplished its intended objective.
It seems doubtful that Joe Biden sought approval from the U.S. State Dept, CIA and Senate Foreign Relations Committee, specifically those who are conducting this proxy war, prior to this statement.