Representatives of the left wing of the American Democratic Party on Monday asked President Joe Biden, who has released billions of dollars in military aid to Ukraine in the face of the Russian invasion, to increase diplomatic efforts and to engage in direct talks with Moscow with one goal: a quick end to the war.
• Read also: “Dirty bomb”: diversion or nuclear escalation of Moscow?
• Read also: Zelensky rejects Russian ‘dirty bomb’ accusations, demands ‘tough’ response
This is the first time that such a call has come from the president’s own party.
“We call on you to complement the economic and military support that the United States has provided to Ukraine with a proactive diplomatic impulse, and to redouble our efforts to seek a realistic framework for a ceasefire,” they said. said the elected officials in their letter, making it clear that they were against the “illegal and outrageous” invasion of Ukraine and that any solution would have to be approved by Kyiv.
“But as lawmakers responsible for how tens of billions of American taxpayer dollars are spent in military assistance in the conflict, we believe that such involvement in this war also creates a responsibility for the United States to seriously explore all possible avenues,” they added.
Among them are Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Ilhan Omar and Pramila Jayapal, figures of the progressive wing of the party.
The elected officials called on Mr. Biden to “deploy vigorous diplomatic efforts in support of a negotiated settlement and a ceasefire, to engage in direct talks with Russia [et] to explore the prospects for a new European security agreement acceptable to all parties”.
Asked about the mail, State Department spokesman Ned Price claimed that “nobody wants to see this war end more than our Ukrainian counterparts.
“We don’t know when this will happen. […]because we have not seen any indication from the Russians that they are ready to engage in this diplomacy and this dialogue,” he added.
“We are providing our Ukrainian partners with what they need on the battlefield so that when a negotiating table emerges, they are in the strongest possible position,” he said.
As for the spokeswoman for the White House, Karine Jean-Pierre, she said that the executive had been “very clear: nothing on Ukraine without Ukraine”.
Since the invasion began, the Biden administration has disbursed tens of billions of dollars in military aid to Ukraine, with bipartisan agreement in Congress, though some of the right-wing aid from Republicans protested.
An influential Republican elected official recently warned that his party would not sign a “blank check” to Ukraine if it wins, as polls predict, the majority of seats in the House of Representatives in the midterm elections.