| US President Joe Biden (left) and Russian President Vladimir Putin. <자료사진> © AFP=News1 |
As the Russian invasion of Ukraine enters its fourth week, efforts are in full swing to find a diplomatic solution to stop the Ukraine war, starting with the Ukrainian government’s abandonment of NATO membership.
Bilateral talks between Ukraine and Russia continue despite Russia’s indiscriminate shelling and bombardment of not only Ukrainian military facilities, but also major cities and key civilian infrastructure, and the resulting surge in civilian casualties.
But suddenly, stronger remarks are pouring in from the US side than before. On the 16th, US President Joe Biden called Russian President Vladimir Putin a “war criminal” and ordered the administration to investigate “war criminals”.
A day later, Secretary of State Tony Blincol said there were no signs that Putin was “ready to stop” the aggression. The Financial Times (FT) reported Blincoln’s remarks, saying that “it poured cold water on his hopes for a diplomatic solution.”
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| Police move a dead resident from a fifth-floor apartment that was destroyed by Russian military shelling in Kiiu, the capital of Ukraine, on the 18th (local time). © AFP=News1 © News1 Reporter Dongmyeong Woo |
At a luncheon commemorating St. Patrick’s Day held at the US Congress on the 17th, President Biden continued the onslaught, saying, “President Putin is a complete thug and a man-killing dictator who is waging an immoral war once morest the people of Ukraine.”
Kremlin spokeswoman Dmitry Peskov responded, “President Biden’s remarks are absolutely unacceptable, unacceptable and unforgivable.” I have no right to do it,” he said.
Qatar’s satellite broadcaster al-Zariza, following Biden denounced Putin as a “war criminal”, has no intention of accepting a compromise as long as Putin remains in power and is willing to fight Russia as long as Ukraine resists. analyzed to be clear.
The US’ hardline stance might dissuade Ukrainian President Volmodimir Zelensky from participating in negotiations, and might prevent Putin from thinking that a peace treaty would be meaningful in any way if Western sanctions were lifted. did.
The New York Times (NYT) reported that Biden’s appearance is personalizing the conflict, saying that it is a way other presidents have avoided during the crisis with Russia, a nuclear power. Biden and his associates frame Putin as a ruthless murderer who deserves trial in The Hague.
The New York Times reported that the hostility between the two leaders has been largely hidden for many years following Biden told Putin that “eyes did not see souls” when he served as vice president under Barack Obama.
President Biden’s remarks came three weeks following the US and its allies began to impose strong sanctions once morest Russia, and the administration explained that the hardline remarks were intended to force the withdrawal of Russian troops.
However, the New York Times reported that diplomats and intelligence officials from many countries are analyzing the sanctions as an attempt to fuel unrest in Russia, which Putin believes. In other words, they are trying to get the Russian oligarch and the general public to turn their backs on Putin.
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| Russian police detain a protester once morest the invasion of Ukraine in Moscow on the 27th. 2022.02.27/news1 © AFP=News1 © News1 Reporter Minsu Kim |
The New York Times has stated that the White House is not on the strategic agenda for Russia’s regime change (regime change), but successive presidents have called Iraqi Saddam Hussein or Syrian Bashar al-Assad as war criminals, whether covertly or overtly. He said it had to do with efforts to remove him from power.
In such a situation, the administration’s biggest concern is that Putin’s escalation and use of weapons of mass destruction (WMD), the New York Times reported.
U.S. National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan in a phone call with Nikolai Patrushev, secretary of the Russian National Security Council on the 16th, warned once morest the use of chemical and biological weapons once morest Ukraine under any circumstances.
The New York Times reported that some of Biden’s aides were concerned that if Putin felt he was cornered, his chances of getting his hands on WMD would increase.
Al Jazeera mentioned wars in Vietnam, Iraq and Afghanistan, and said that historically, there have been cases where great powers such as Russia and the United States did not want to end the war, or showed the ability to end it, even though they knew they might not win.
He said that, while fearing that the great powers would lose their political legitimacy and strategic prestige in such a war, they continued the war recklessly, causing great damage to themselves and their opponents.
