The Zelensky Tango: A Dance on the Road to Nowhere.

This is a photo from a nationalist rally in Kiev that I happened upon completely by accident. I thought people were going to a soccer match and just followed them into the stadium, which was filled to the brim. The immediate demand – more honestly about Chernobyl; the deeper goal – independence from the USSR. I was told by an English speaking spectator that there were probably 100,000 people there. The spirit in the stadium was militant. It was a sobering moment when I understood that more than likely, the USSR had no future.

So many of you – my family, friends, political allies – cheer on Zelensky.

As many of you know, I’m not with you on this one. He is no hero to me; to the contrary. That said. what I want to point out is something quite different.

It is a GOOD THING that the United States and Russia are exploring the possibility of opening up diplomatic ties with each other
– the first step in a three step process. This one entails refilling the respective embassies and opening up traditional lines of communication cut off, mostly by Democratic presidents.
– The second step, if the process continues, is to explore resetting economic relations which I assume will include lifting most if not all sanctions.
– And the third step will be resolving SOME regional conflicts, including Ukraine. That will not happen for a while. it appears; and when it does, given the realities on the battlefield, Russia will call most, if not all the shots.

All this was done by – of all people Donald Trump.

No I didn’t vote for him (or for Biden – too much Gaza blood his hands) and I don’t support Trump at all.

It is simply a fact that it is Donald Trump, not Biden, nor Obama, nor Clinton (who really should be chastised for the role he played in the Ukraine deterioration) who has reopened these lines of communication with Moscow, vital for world peace and for reducing global tensions. I simply acknowledge this fact and believe, among all the negative things Trump is doing, that this is a welcome initiative that I hope bears fruit.

Perhaps the two greatest nuclear weapons’ countries will get back to the business of working for nuclear disarmament, in a nuclear arms race currently out of control and mostly unnoticed. That would be nice.

Two last points.

1. the idea that Russia is about to invade Western Europe and swallow up the continent is utter nonsense. It neither has the forces, the strength, more more importantly, the will do so
2. I find the daily attacks on Putin – now little more than a punching bag not just for mainstream media but for sizeable sections of the U.S. Left – lamentable and frankly, that the current russophobia is, racist, a pretext to make it impossible for any major political figure here to call for nuclear disarmament or for opening lines of communication with Russia.

I did spend about ten days in Ukraine in April, 1989, of course just scratching the surface. I was there to help organize a conference between east and west to speak of the dangers of conventional war in Europe because of the presence throughout Europe of nuclear power plants to see nuclear power plants targeted in the Ukraine war – it turns out mostly if not entirely by the Ukrainians themselves – was that much more riveting. The trip included a bus trip to Chernobyl three years after the nuclear reactor exploded

There was no doubt in my mind at that time of the power of Ukrainian nationalism and the pervasive will to break from the USSR. It was a sobering moment. When Ukraine broke away from Moscow, I was not particularly surprised; I had seen the will of the Ukrainian people to go off on their own. I had hoped that Ukrainian nationalism would follow a political approach similar to which Finland had followed during the Cold War, that it would be neutral, a bridge between East and West. Needless to say Finland has since gone off the deep end and finds itself (happily) ensconced in NATO.