Joe Biden implied that Ukraine may need to cede territory in Eastern Ukraine to Russia as part of a “negotiated settlement,” during press remarks on Friday morning.
The statement came at the end of a series of remarks centered on the May jobs report and Biden’s assertion that American consumers are in the best economic position in a decade, and that the government must begin increasing direct subsidies to offset rising energy costs and massive inflation pressure.
When Biden was asked:
“Does Ukraine have to cede territory to achieve some peace?”
Biden replied:
“From 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.”
From the beginning, it was clear that annexing Eastern Ukraine, an area with a majority pro-Russian population, was the Russian aggression’s primary goal. With Biden’s admission out in the open, it begs the question: why did we agree to give $40 billion?
Russia’s control over the Donbas region of Eastern Ukraine is now basically complete. This is the region that has been embroiled in civil strife since 2008, and Russian annexation would effectively end the conflict.
Any negotiations between Ukraine and Russia would boil down to Ukraine accepting the land it has already lost. It’s unlikely that Russia will return it. The “negotiated settlement” entails Ukraine and the western NATO alliance conceding that Russia has achieved its goal.
Joe Biden does not appear to have sought US approval. Prior to this statement, the State Department, CIA, and Senate Foreign Relations Committee, specifically those who are conducting this proxy war, were consulted.
Watch it here: Youtube/PBS NewsHour
Sources: Conservativebrief, Shafaq, Whitehouse.gov