Erdogan threatens to punish Turkish media over 'harmful content'

AFP , AP , Saturday 29 Jan 2022

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan threatened Turkish media with legal action over content "incompatible with national and moral values," in a move seen by critics as an attempt to stifle dissent.

In a circular posted Saturday on the Official Gazette, Erdogan said the decision aims to eliminate the harmful effects of television programs with foreign content that have been adapted in Turkey and to protect Turkish culture.

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All precautions would be taken against productions that negatively affect the family, children and youth, through Turkish laws and the constitution. Children and youth will be protected from "messages conveyed through certain symbols,'' the decision stated, without elaborating.

Turkey's media watchdog, the Supreme Council of Radio and Television, already has wide-ranging powers, and can fine media or order temporary blackouts for television channels that are mostly critical of the government for violating Turkish values.

Ilhan Tasci, a member of the media watchdog from the main opposition party, called the move "the censorship circular'' and said it violates the constitution that promises to protect press freedom.

The majority of media companies in Turkey are already owned by businesses close to the conservative and nationalist government and closely follow government lines.

Reporters Without Borders ranks Turkey at 153 out of 180 countries in its World Press Freedom Index of 2021. At least 34 media employees are currently behind bars, according to Turkey's Journalists Union.

Critics said it was another bid to crackdown on freedom of speech in the run-up to elections next year.

Faruk Bildirici, veteran journalist and media ombudsman, on Twitter, accused Erdogan of declaring a "state of emergency against the media".

Rights groups routinely accuse Turkey of undermining media freedom by arresting journalists and shutting down critical media outlets, especially since Erdogan survived a failed coup attempt in July 2016.

Inflation Anger

In an earlier decree on Saturday, Erdogan sacked state statistics agency chief Sait Erdal Dincer.

It was just the latest in a series of economic dismissals by Erdogan, who has fired three central bank governors since July 2019.

Erdogan has railed against high-interest rates, which he believes cause inflation -- the exact opposition of conventional economic thinking.

The 2021 inflation figure of 36.1 percent released by Dincer angered both the pro-government and opposition camps.

The opposition said the number was underreported, claiming that the real cost of living increases was at least twice as high.

Erdogan meanwhile reportedly criticised the statistics agency in private for publishing data that he felt overstated the scale of Turkey's economic malaise.

Dincer seemed to sense his impending fate.

"I sit in this office now, tomorrow it will be someone else," he said in an interview with the business newspaper Dunya earlier this month.

"Never mind who is the chairman. Can you imagine that hundreds of my colleagues could stomach or remain quiet about publishing an inflation rate very different from what they had established?"

Erdogan did not explain his decision to appoint Erhan Cetinkaya, who had served as vice-chair of Turkey's banking regulator, as the new state statistics chief.

"This will just increase concern about the reliability of the data, in addition to major concerns about economic policy settings," Timothy Ash of BlueBay Asset Management said in a note to clients.

The agency is due to publish January's inflation data on February 3.

Justice Minister Also Sacked

Also on Saturday, Erdogan appointed a new justice minister, naming former deputy prime minister Bekir Bozdag to replace veteran ruling party member Abdulhamit Gul who had been in the role since 2017.

Ali Babacan, former deputy prime minister who left the ruling AKP party and founded the Deva Party, took to Twitter to vent fury over the changes.

"The justice minister is being replaced, (statistics agency) TUIK chairman is being dismissed before the inflation data is published. Nobody knows why," he said.

"The authoritarian alliance... keeps on harming the country," he said, referring to the AKP and its nationalist partner MHP.

In December, opposition leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu was turned away by security guards when he sought to enter the statistic agency's headquarters in Ankara.

He had accused the agency of "fabricating" the numbers to hide the true impact of the government's policies and slammed it as "no longer a state institution but a palace institution", in reference to Erdogan's presidential complex.

NEU COLD WAR 2.0
US paying athletes to 'disrupt' Winter Olympics: China state media

The Beijing Winter Olympics have become the most politicised in recent memory (AFP/NOEL CELIS) (NOEL CELIS)

Sat, January 29, 2022,

The United States is paying athletes to "create disturbances" during the Beijing Winter Olympics, Chinese state media reported Saturday.

The accusations come just a week before the start of the most politicised Games in recent memory and immediately drew a denial from the US embassy in China.

China Daily newspaper, citing "sources familiar with the matter", said there was a plot by Washington to persuade athletes to "play passively" or refuse to take part in competitions and "express discontent toward China".


"The sources stressed that Washington's plan is a new example demonstrating attempts by some anti-China forces in the United States to politicize sports and maliciously disrupt and spoil the Beijing Winter Olympic Games," the article said.

In return the United States will offer financial compensation and work to protect the reputations of athletes who cooperate, according to the paper.

Washington is leading a diplomatic boycott of the Games by a group of Western nations over China's human rights record, in particular its crackdown on Muslim Uyghurs in the western region of Xinjiang that the United States has labelled "genocide".

The countries taking part in the boycott are not sending officials to Beijing for Friday's opening ceremony but their athletes will participate in competitions.

The US embassy in Beijing on Saturday denied the accusations reported in China Daily.

"We were not and are not coordinating a global campaign regarding participation at the Olympics," an embassy spokesperson said in an email to AFP.

"US athletes are entitled to express themselves freely in line with the spirit and charter of the Olympics, which includes advancing human rights."

The embassy said Beijing was seeking to "deflect attention from their egregious human rights record".

"We expect the PRC to ensure the safety and well-being of our athletes -- and all athletes -- competing in Beijing and to respect their human rights and fundamental freedoms," the spokesperson said.

Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi had already urged the United States on Thursday to "stop disrupting" the Olympics during a phone call with his American counterpart Antony Blinken.

Adding to the acrimony surrounding the Games, Germany's top official for snowboarding on Monday said he feared Covid-19 tests were being exploited in Beijing to exclude stronger athletes.

But Michael Hoelz offered no evidence for his claim and health officials in Beijing told a briefing Saturday that there was no reason to question the credibility of the tests.

"The PCR test we adopt follows the standards of the World Health Organization and other international standards," said Huang Chen, an official with the Olympic organising committee's Covid prevention office.

He said the testing procedures were agreed at a meeting of Chinese and foreign experts from the International Olympic Committee.

Dr Brian McCloskey, chair of the IOC's Medical Expert Panel, said the group of experts "are satisfied with the standards we are working to".

ehl/jr/pel/axn/je

The Aegean origin and early history of the Greek doctrines of reincarnation and immortality of the soul: Epimenides, Pherecydes, Pythagoras, and Onomacritus' Orphica 

[published version, January 2022. 

NB: photos of graffiti at the end of pdf file]

Andrei V . Lebedev

2022, Myth, ritual and literature

Top 4%156 ViewsPaperRank: 4.572 Pages

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A.V.Lebedev, The Aegean origin and early history of the Greek doctrines of reincarnation and immortality of the soul (Epimenides, Pherecydes, Pythagoras, and Onomacritus’ Orphica), in: J.V.Ivanova, N.B.Bogdanovich (edd.). Myth, Ritual, Literature. National Research University “Higher School of Economics”, Institute of Classical Orient and Antiquity, HSE Publishing House, Moscow, 2022 (series “Orientalia et Classica”, Edito-in-chief I.S.Smirnov), pp. 240-301. Миф, ритуал, литература. / отв. ред. Ю.В. Иванова, сост. Н.Б. Богданович ; Нац. исслед. ун-т «Высшая школа экономики», Ин-т классического Востока и античности. — М. : Изд. дом Высшей школы экономики, 2022. (Orientalia et Classica. / гл. ред. И. С. Смирнов), с. 240-301. NB! In the published version page numbering has been changed. NB! Pictures with fig.1-3 in the published volume are insets with no page numbers. In the present pdf file they are attached at the end. In the section (1) a new reading and interpretation of the so-called ‘Orphic’ graffiti from Olbia is proposed on the base of superior quality photographs of the plates than the 1978 photo in the editio princeps, on which virtually all existing literature is based. Relying on Vinogradov’s 1997 photo, I read and interpret the bottom line of the recto of OF 463 as follows: Διο[νύσωι] Ὀρφικῶ[ι] λ̅ (scil. τριακάδι θύειν vel εὔχεσθαι) – “Sacrifice (or pray) to Dionysos Orphikos on the thirtieth day”. Dionysos Orphikos is Dionysos of Orpheus’ Theogony, the son of Persephone, as distinguished from the traditional Dionysos, the son of Semele. Dionysos Orphikos permanently dwells in Hades, as was clearly seen by Philodemus. The bone tablets are neither dedications to Dionysus, nor secret ‘tokens’ of the initiated members of an Orphic thiasos. They are the oldest example of fortune-telling cards (ἀγυρτικοὶ πίνακες), typologically comparable to Tarot cards and Chinese inscriptions on oracular bones, and are based on the principles of Greek cleromancy (astragalomancy), since their triadic structure (number - prophecy – name of the god to whom one should pray) coincides with that of the cleromantic oracles from Asia Minor of the 2nd and 3rd centuries A.D. published by Nollé. The owner of the plates was most likely “Pharnabazos, the soothsayer of Hermes”, known from another graffito from Olbia of the same period, since it was Hermes who was considered the patron of popular dice divination. The drawings on the plates are associated with the symbolism of the Orphic myth of sparagm 

… View full abstract  

 https://tinyurl.com/2p8ya6jv

Idealism (Mentalism) in Early Greek Metaphysics and Philosophical Theology: Pythagoras, Parmenides, Heraclitus, Xenophanes and others. With some remarks on the "Gigantomachia over being" in Plato's Sophistes (2019).

Andrei V . Lebedev

2019, Indo-European linguistics and classical philology

3755 ViewsPaperRank: 1.058 Pages

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Abstract and table of contents (1) Preliminary criticism of the presuppositions of the denial of existence of idealism in early Greek thought: pseudohistorical evolutionism, Platonocentrism that ignores the archaic features of Plato’s metaphysics and psychology, and the modern stereotype of «Presocratics» as physicalists, a product of the late 19th century (excessive) positivist reaction against Hegelianism and German idealism in the English-speaking historiography of Greek phiosophy. p.653 (2) Demiourgos and creationism in Pre-Platonic philosophy. Creation by divine mind is a form of objective idealism (mentalism). p,.658 (3) The thesis of Myles Burnyeat and Bernard Williams (no idealism in Greek philosophy) is criticised. We point to scholastic and ancient (Platonic) roots of Descartes’ substance dualism of body and mind, as well as to the even more ancient Pythagorean roots of Plato’s doctrine of immortal soul. p.661 (4) A provisional taxonomy of different types of idealism (mentalism) in ancient Greek philosophy is proposed. 11 types are distinguished. p.663 (5) The evidence of the Orphic-Pythagorean graffiti from Olbia on the early Pythagorean substance dualism of body and soul proves its Preplatonic origin. p.673 (6) Criticism of modern naturalistic interpretations of Pythagorean first principles peras and apeiron (Burkert, Huffman and others). Peras and apeiron (a geometrical analogue of later terms form and matter) are self-subsistent incorporeal mathematical essences, out of which physical bodies are «constructed» (ἁρμόζειν, another geometrical term for «construction») by the divine mind-demiourgos. P.674 (7) The identity of Being and Mind in Parmenides. A refutation of the grammatically impossible anti-idealist interpretation of fr. B 3 by Zeller, Burnet and their followers. Parmenides’ Kouros is a poetic image of Pythagoras as the originator of the Western Greek monotheistic theology of the noetic One, conceived as a Sphere of immutable thinking divine light (the conceptual metaphor of the Invisible Sun of Justice that «never sets»). p.675 (8) The psychological and ethical dimensions of the Eleatic doctrine of Being, almost totally neglected in the mainstream of the post-Burnetean literature. The Pythagorean doctrine of the indestructible soul serves as a practical tool of military psychological engineering: the education of fearless warriors. Strabo’s commonly neglected report on invincible Eleatic warriors, educated by Parmenides

 … View full abstract 

https://tinyurl.com/bddnnj7v

Andrei Lebedev_The philosophy of Heraclitus. An outline. ("The Logos of Heraclitus", chapter V in English translation). Corrected version February 2020.pdf

Andrei V . Lebedev

Published 2014

3205 ViewsPaperRank: 4.357 Pages

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A summary of Heraclitus philosophy based on the new collection of fragments and a revised Greek text. Heraclitus' metaphysics and epistemology (theory of cosmic logos), philosophy of nature (cosmos abd fire), anthropology and ethics, psychology, political philosophy and theory of natural law, and philosophical theology are reconstructed on the basis of fresh textual evidence and systematic study of his metaphorical language.

https://tinyurl.com/yc7e75ws

Metaphor of Liber Naturae and Alphabet Analogy in Heraclitus' Logos-Fragments (with some remarks on Plato's "dream theory" and the origin of the concept of elements), Studia Praesocratica, v.8 (2017), 231-267.

Andrei V . Lebedev

1415 Views48 Pages

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Expanded version of paper delivered at the International conference "Heraklit von Ephesos und seine Zeit" (7-12 Oktober 2013, Selcuk Municipality, Turkey), in: „Heraklit im Kontext” hrsg. von Enrica Fantino, Ulrike Muss, Charlotte Schubert, Kurt Sier", Studia Praesocratica Bd. 8, De Gruyter, 2017, 231-267. A.Lebedev, Metaphor of Liber Naturae and Alphabet Analogy in Heraclitus' Logos-Fragments (Abstract) This article criticizes both the traditional metaphysical interpretation of Heraclitus’ notion of logos (logos as divine reason, universal law etc.) and the widespread verbalist interpretation (logos as the discource of Heraclitus humself). On the basis of the systematical study of Heraclitus’ metaphorical language a new interpretation is proposed that takes the phrase “this logos” in the beginning of Heraclitus’ book as a metaphor of “book of nature” with a referential meaning “Universe”. This interpretation was known in antiquity and is attested by a group of ancient sources including Plato (λόγος σημαίνει τὸ πᾶν) and the Stoic source of Philo Alexandrinus who ascribes to Heraclitus the notion of τὰ τῆς φύσεως γράμματα. The metaphor of book of nature is a part of a more complex metaphorical model based on the grammarical or alphabet analogy between speech or text (logos in grammatical sense) and the external world. In Greek grammar “logos” (both phonetic speech and written text) is analyzed into “syllables”, syllables into “letters”, stoicheia (later this term came to denote “elements”). In this analogy “letters” correspond to separate elementary opposites of the physical world, syllables to their combinations and “logos” to the total sum of all “syllables”, i.e. to the Universe. The metaphor of “book of nature” in Heraclitus has both epistemological-metaphysical, and ethical-political as well as a theological dimension. First of all its purpose is to explain the fundamental thesis of Heraclitus’ metaphysics about the identity of opposites and the unity of the cosmos: all visible phenomena (τὰ φανερά) without a single exception form pairs of opposites which should be “joined together” in thought, and the resultig “syllables” should be all incorporated into a single Logos which is the only true reality, τὸ ξυνόν. Reading the book of nature is like killing the lice: the more you “grap”, the less is left (against polymathia of the positive science of the Milesians). Wisdom consists in knowing all things as one (ἓν πάντα εἰδέναι keeping the MSS readi … View full abstract

https://tinyurl.com/74cmh7h8

The authorship of the Derveni Papyrus, a Sophistic treatise on the origin of religion and language: a case for Prodicus of Ceos (2019).

Andrei V . Lebedev

Published 2019

1671 Views122 Pages

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The Derveni Papyrus has been often misread and misunderstood for six main reasons. (1) First, because the papyrus was falsely labeled as ‘Orphic’ in the very first report. (2) Second, because another misleading label – ‘Presocratic’ – was soon after that attached to its author. (3) Third, because the rhetorical/grammatical terms of the Derveni author τὰ κοινά καὶ τὰ ἴδια (sc. ὀνόματα or ῥήματα) “common and peculiar names” that provide a clue for understanding his theory of language and the origin of religion have been misunderstood as alleged ‘echoes’ of Heraclitus’ own terminology. (4) Fourth, because of the failure to distinguish between two types of pantheism in early Greek thought, the naturalistic and the ethico-religious. (5) Fifth, because of the failure to distinguish between two types of allegoresis of myth: constructive (friendly and apologetical in purpose) and deconstructive (polemical or atheistic). (6) And, last but not least, the widespread (after Tsantsanoglou [1997]) misinterpretation of πάριμεν in PDerv., col. V as an alleged indication of the author’s religious profession. Mistake (1) is addressed in § (II), mistake (3) in § (IV), mistake (5) in § (II), mistake (6) in § (XI). The attribution of PDerv. to Prodicus of Ceos proposed in this article is based on verbal coincidences of peculiar phrases and terms in PDerv. and Prodicus’ fragments; Prodicus’ peculiar theory of the origin of the names of gods and religion from agriculture and other τέχναι ‘useful’ for human race is directly attested in PDerv.; there is also the evidence found in both Aristophanes and Themistius that Prodicus wrote an allegorical interpretation of the Orphic theogony. The demonstration of our thesis is presented in 11 sections (§) and three appendices (App.). After preliminary remarks on the necessary distinction of the two types of pantheism and allegoresis in Greek thought (§ [I]) we define in § (II) the literary genre, the general purpose, and the hermeneutical method of the Derveni treatise, and draw a preliminary intellectual portrait of its author describing his peculiar features, a kind of ‘composite image.’ In § (III), we argue for Prodicus as the author of PDerv. and present the 19 testimonia on which this attribution is based. These include both the verbatim quotations with Prodicus’ name that find an exact correspondence in the text of PDerv and the common peculiar features of language and style. In § (IV), we propose a reconstruction and interpretation of the text of col. IV that contains a quotation from Herac … View full abstract

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 FROM MY EMAIL

DEAR FELLOW AMERICAN It may be a new year, but Big Pharma is still up to the same antics: raising prices on Americans. Katie isn’t letting this stand. The high cost of prescription drugs hurts all of us. Since January 1st, the price of over 450 prescription drugs have already been raised–some by as much as 9%. This is unacceptable. Add your name to hold Big Pharma accountable. ADD YOUR NAME As a taxpayer, your tax dollars are spent covering what Big Pharma charges Medicare for these prescriptions. Katie’s been advocating that we fix this by allowing Medicare to negotiate drug prices–which would save taxpayers billions. She’s also introduced legislation to stop Big Pharma from price-gouging patients. Still, Big Pharma continues to spend millions on lobbying, hoping they can drown out the voices of families across the country. Katie’s proud to be one of just a few members of Congress who doesn’t take a dime of Big Pharma’s money. Show your support for Katie’s legislation to lower the cost of prescription drugs by signing our petition. Thanks for being a part of our movement, Team Katie Porter PAID FOR BY KATIE PORTER FOR CONGRESS. DOES NOT EQUAL ENDORSEMENT.

Ukrainian rebel region residents

can join Russian military

AP , Saturday 29 Jan 2022

A Russian lawmaker is encouraging residents of the rebel-controlled areas of Ukraine to join the Russian army, a sign that Moscow is continuing to try to integrate those territories as much as possible amid Western fears that Russia is planning to invade Ukraine.

Russian soldier attends a military exercise at the Golovenki training ground in the Moscow region, Russia, on Tuesday, Jan. 25, 2022. AP

Viktor Vodolatsky said Saturday that residents of the regions controlled since 2014 by Russia-backed rebels fear assaults by Ukrainian forces and that those who hold Russian passports would be welcomed in the military.

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"If Russian citizens residing in the (territories) want to join the Russian Armed Forces, the Rostov regional military commissariat will register and draft them,'' Vodolatsky, deputy chairman of the parliament committee on relations with neighbours, told the state news agency Tass.

Russia has granted passports to more than 500,000 people in the territories. Vodolatsky said the recruits would serve in Russia, but that leaves open the option that they could join any future invasion force.

Russia has massed an estimated 100,000 troops near Ukraine. U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said Friday that President Vladimir Putin could use any portion of the force of an estimated 100,000 troops to seize Ukrainian cities and "significant territories'' or to carry out "coercive acts or provocative political acts."

Russia denies that it is planning an invasion, but contends that Ukraine poses a security threat and is demanding that NATO promises never to allow Ukraine to join the alliance, as well as stopping the deployment of alliance weapons near Russian borders, and rolling back its forces from Eastern Europe.

The U.S. and NATO formally rejected those demands this week, although Washington outlined areas where discussions are possible, offering hope that there could be a way to avoid war.

The Russian president has made no public remarks about the Western response, but Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said it leaves little chance for reaching an agreement.

"While they say they won't change their positions, we won't change ours,'' Lavrov told Russian radio stations in a live interview. "I don't see any room for compromise here.''

"There won't be a war as far as it depends on the Russian Federation, we don't want a war,'' he added. "But we won't let our interests be rudely trampled on and ignored.''

A senior offical in President Joe Biden's administration said the U.S. welcomed Lavrov's comments that Russia does not want war, "but this needs to be backed up with action. We need to see Russia pulling some of the troops that they have deployed away from the Ukrainian border and taking other de-escalatory steps.'' The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to talk publicly.

Lavrov said the U.S. suggested the two sides could talk about limits on the deployment of intermediate-range missiles, restrictions on military drills and rules to prevent accidents between warships and aircraft. He said the Russians proposed discussing those issues years ago, but Washington and its allies never took them up on it until now.

He also said those issues are secondary to Russia's main concerns about NATO. He said international agreements say the security of one nation must not come at the expense of others and said he would send letters to Western counterparts asking them to explain their failure to respect that pledge.

Washington has warned Moscow of devastating sanctions if it invades Ukraine, including penalties targeting top Russian officials and key economic sectors. Lavrov said Moscow had warned Washington that sanctions would amount to a complete severing of ties.

NATO, meanwhile, said it was bolstering its deterrence in the Baltic Sea region.

Russia has launched military drills involving motorized infantry and artillery units in southwestern Russia, warplanes in Kaliningrad on the Baltic Sea, and dozens of warships in the Black Sea and the Arctic. Russian troops are also in Belarus for joint drills, raising Western fears that Moscow could stage an attack on Ukraine from the north. The Ukrainian capital is 75 kilometres (less than 50 miles) from the border with Belarus.

Poll Shows Majority in US Want Diplomacy, Not War With Russia Over Ukraine

The survey's findings echo the pleas of progressive lawmakers, who assert "there is no military solution" to the crisis involving the world's two foremost nuclear powers.

A Ukrainian man and a girl watch soldiers march past during a welcome ceremony for the 128th Mountain Assault Brigade in Uzhhorod, Ukraine on December 28, 2021.

 (Photo: Serhii Hudak/ Ukrinform/Future Publishing via Getty Images)

BRETT WILKINS

January 28, 2022

A majority of Americans want the Biden administration to work with Russia toward a diplomatic solution to the Ukraine crisis in order to avert a potentially catastrophic war, according to the results of a new poll published Friday.

According to the Data for Progress survey of 1,214 likely U.S. voters, 58% of overall respondents "somewhat" or "strongly" support the Biden administration "striking a deal with Russia to avoid war over Ukraine."

Among Democrats, support for such a move was 71%, while 51% of Independents and 46% of Republicans agreed with the prospective policy.



The poll's findings echo pleas from U.S. progressives, who urge President Joe Biden to pursue a diplomatic solution to the crisis, in which the world's two foremost nuclear powers are involved.

"There is no military solution," Congressional Progressive Caucus Chair Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.) and Rep. Barbara Lee (D-Calif.) asserted Wednesday.

The new poll comes as U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said during a Friday press conference that conflict with Russia "is not inevitable" and that there was still time for a positive diplomatic outcome.

Common Dreams reported Friday that Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said that there will be no war if the United States does not escalate the conflict.

"If it depends on Russia, then there will be no war," he stated. "We don't want wars. But we also won't allow our interests to be rudely trampled, to be ignored."

Citing security concerns—including decades of U.S. provocation such as expanding NATO—Russia has reportedly amassed around 100,000 troops near the border of eastern Ukraine, where pro-Moscow separatists have been fighting the Western-backed Ukrainian government since 2014.

Russia is seeking a guarantee that Ukraine will not be admitted into the NATO alliance, which Moscow views as inherently anti-Russian. The U.S. refuses to provide such a guarantee.

Last week, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken warned that any Russian invasion of Ukraine would be "met with a severe and united response" from NATO. While the Biden administration has suggested that such a response would be primarily economic in nature, the Pentagon announced earlier this week that 8,500 U.S. troops were being placed on alert, ready to quickly deploy to Eastern Europe in the event NATO activates a rapid reaction force.

According to a Kremlin official quoted by Reuters, Russian President Vladmir Putin spoke by phone with French President Emmanuel Macron Friday, telling him that "he wanted to continue dialogue and that we needed to work towards the implementation of the Minsk accords," a reference to the quadrilateral talks between France, Germany, Russia, and Ukraine on the war in eastern Ukraine.

"He said he didn't want an escalation," the Russian official said of Putin, but added that the U.S. and NATO have still failed to address Moscow's primary security concerns.

On Thursday, Biden spoke with Volodymyr Zelenskyy, his Ukrainian counterpart, and "reaffirmed the readiness of the United States along with its allies and partners to respond decisively if Russia further invades Ukraine," according to a White House readout of the conversation.

Ukraine Crisis Demands Diplomacy and De-escalation, Not More Weaponry

Diplomacy and de-escalation remain the most urgent priorities. 

We can't risk putting out the fire with gasoline.

A soldier holds his machine gun position on the front line near the village of Spartak, located southeast of the line of demarcation and recently shelled by the Ukrainian troops. 

Valentin Sprinchak/TASS (Photo by Valentin Sprinchak\TASS via Getty Images)

KEVIN MARTIN

January 28, 2022

Global crises abound—escalating war in Yemen, potential famine in Afghanistan, rising tensions on the Korean Peninsula, and uncertain prospects for a U.S. return to the Iran anti-nuclear deal. All of these challenges require skillful diplomacy, and that urgently applies to the situation in Ukraine.

Approving a half billion dollars in emergency appropriations for military weapons while failing to pass vital and needed funding for U.S. communities, as in the Build Back Better bill, would be shameful.

As PresidentJoe Biden has ordered 8,500 U.S. troops in the region to be on high alert, Congress may rush through, as soon as next week, a massive defense package including a staggering $500 million grant for new weapons for Ukraine, which would make it the third-largest recipient of military aid. Congress is planning on rushing this bill through without committee “markup” and it could be voted on soon.

Throwing a half-billion dollars in military aid at Ukraine will not resolve the conflict—on the contrary, it could escalate it. As one congressional aide put it, "This is how the space for nonmilitary options gets slowly closed off in Washington." The bill also piles sanctions on Russia without fully examining how those sanctions might impact innocent Russian civilians. At the same time, the bill represents yet another half-billion dollars gift to weapons manufacturers that could instead be spent on threats here at home like the pandemic and climate change.

Diplomacy and de-escalation are the urgent priorities; we can't risk putting out the fire with gasoline. While seemingly no one wants war, mis-calculations could lead to catastrophe between nuclear-armed behemoths.

Nobody should oversimplify the current situation. Russia-Ukraine relations and history, as well as post-Cold War triumphalism by the U.S. and NATO toward Russia, have contributed to the crisis. But diplomacy, via the Minsk II process or other means, needs to be the only solution on the table, not militaristic threats or increased weapons transfers. The Minsk II agreement would, if implemented, demilitarize the eastern Donbass region of Ukraine and guarantee meaningful political autonomy to the region while retaining Ukrainian sovereignty over the area and its borders.

It is time to escalate diplomacy, not military aid. Congress and the administration should heed the call issued last summer by over 100 former U.S. officials and leading area experts who called for diplomacy-first approach instead of a "foreign policy arsenal reduced mainly to reactions, sanctions, public shaming and congressional resolutions." This approach would "address the deeper sources of mistrust and hostility" as the means to deter the current aggressive Russian military stance.

I had the honor to represent Peace Action on a citizen peacemaker delegation to Russia in 1997, and while I don't claim to be a Russia expert, it certainly gave me a sense of Russia's history and culture. I loved the people, art, architecture, music, ballet, language and food, and I also met some wonderful Ukrainians while I was there. As the musician Sting wrote poignantly at the height of the Cold War in the early '80s, anyone could see the Russians "love their children, too," as do Ukrainians, Americans, and all peoples.

Members of Congress should remember that and vote against H.R. 6470, the Defending Ukraine Sovereignty Act of 2022 (in the House of Representatives) and S. 3488 (Senate version) next week. Approving a half billion dollars in emergency appropriations for military weapons while failing to pass vital and needed funding for U.S. communities, as in the Build Back Better bill, would be shameful.


KEVIN MARTIN is President of Peace Action and Peace Action Education Fund, the country’s largest peace and disarmament organization with approximately 200,000 supporters nationwide.

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