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2022-04-20 Caucasus/Russia/Central Asia
Russian Ambassador to US Says Biden Officials Don't Want to Speak With Him
[Antiwar.com] Russian Ambassador to the US Anatoly Antonov told Politico in an interview published Monday that he can’t get meetings with senior Biden administration officials at the White House and State Department.

Antonov, who took the post in Washington in 2017, said that his letters to meet with US senators and House representatives have also been rejected. He said the Russian Embassy still maintains lower-level contacts with the Biden administration but described the situation as a "blockade."

"Frankly, we are in a blockade," Antonov said. "When I came to Washington, my idea was to use the word ’improvement’ to describe his goals for the relationship. Now I prefer to use the word ’stabilization.'"

The Russian ambassador decried the lack of contact with US officials and stressed that the US and Russia must cooperate. "It’s impossible to imagine even under such circumstances that problems of strategic stability, climate change, coronavirus, fighting against terrorism, fighting against the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction could be solved without active engagement of the United States and Russia," he said.

The Biden administration has abandoned diplomacy with Russia since it invaded Ukraine on February 24. Secretary of State Antony Blinken hasn’t spoken with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov since February 15, and President Biden doesn’t seem interested in holding talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Antonov hasn’t spoken with Putin since 2017 but insists that is typical of the Russian system and said he has a direct line with the Kremlin.

Antonov said that the US has to decide what sort of relationship it wants to have with Russia. "You have to decide who we are for you," he said. "Whether we are partner for you, whether we are rival for you, whether we are opponent, or I don’t want even to use this word, ’enemy.'"

While Washington and Moscow still maintain formal diplomatic ties, the US has been leading a Western sanctions campaign aimed at isolating Russia from the global economy. The Washington Post reported over the weekend that the US and its allies are digging to isolate Russia for the long-term and are preparing for a new world where they no longer try to cooperate and coexist with Russia.

For his part, Antonov hopes for better relations. "As for me, I’m still sure we should be partners," he said. "Previously, I would say that we are partners. Now we are not partners. It’s a pity."
Posted by Besoeker 2022-04-20 00:27|| || Front Page|| [11139 views ]  Top

#1 More evidence the Biden administration is not interested in peace.
Posted by Besoeker 2022-04-20 00:31||   2022-04-20 00:31|| Front Page Top

#2 define "peace" with a rival that is killing Ukraine, threatening us and allies with nukes, and supplying Iran?
Posted by Frank G 2022-04-20 07:13||   2022-04-20 07:13|| Front Page Top

#3 If peace means Russia stuck in Ukraine and bleeding itself white and losing weapons it cannot replace, then I'm all for it.
Posted by DarthVader 2022-04-20 07:59||   2022-04-20 07:59|| Front Page Top

#4 ^ As long as the US is not stuck right alongside them throwing money down a black hole to keep the MIC and it's associated retainers happy.
Posted by M. Murcek 2022-04-20 08:01||   2022-04-20 08:01|| Front Page Top

#5 As long as the US is not stuck right alongside them throwing money down a black hole to keep the MIC and it's associated retainers happy.

But we are stuck, and it is a black hole. The US taxpayer will be stuck with the tab for this. Reconstruction of Ukraine will cost a trillion or more.

Most of that btw will simply be stolen; remember, this is the poorest, worst governed, most corrupt country in Europe, and reconstruction will be presided over by the Bidens. And it's now a one-party dictatorship under the penile pianist-comedian.
Posted by Ebbeating Jusoter2943 2022-04-20 08:24||   2022-04-20 08:24|| Front Page Top

#6 I don't see how the US is "stuck". We can walk away anytime, or adjust resupply as needed.
The US should have little interest in rebuilding Ukr. That's a EU problem.
Posted by Vespasian Ebboting9735 2022-04-20 08:31||   2022-04-20 08:31|| Front Page Top

#7 Rebuilding the AzovStal steel complex alone will cost many billions. Plus 10 percent for TBG.

Oops, I forgot: it's now under Russian control. So redirect the billions and the grift to another one of Rinat Alhmetov's entities. Or just into his pockets (it's faster, more efficient).
Posted by Whath Gray6550 2022-04-20 08:34||   2022-04-20 08:34|| Front Page Top

#8 #6 I don't see how the US is "stuck". We can walk away anytime, or adjust resupply as needed.
The US should have little interest in rebuilding Ukr. That's a EU problem.

"Build Back Better", Eastern version.

Ukraine is every D.C. Swampie's favorite piñata. Endless opportunities for embezzlement and sweetheart deals.

Washington will be all over the trillion dollar Ukraine gold rush like flies on shit.

Why the hell else do you think they want to keep this completely futile (from Ukraine's standpoint) war going? It's only going to partition Ukraine and cause what's left to be completely destroyed. It's all about $$$ for official Washington + Pentagon contractors now.
Posted by Ebbeating Jusoter2943 2022-04-20 08:42||   2022-04-20 08:42|| Front Page Top

#9 Well. Imagine a situation where the FBI tires of setting up incels for failed "insurrection stings" and instead dusts off the ABSCAM playbook. That gold rush will look like a shitshow in short order.
Posted by M. Murcek 2022-04-20 08:44||   2022-04-20 08:44|| Front Page Top

#10 Obama put Joe Biden in charge of Iraq policy, and the Biden family got rich overnight. James Biden pocketed tens of millions in deals that brother Joe steered to him.

Now Joe's even more powerful and son Hunter has golden connections to Ukraine's most corrupt officials and oligarchs.

And unlike Iraq, Ukraine under Zelensky is a one-party state, a dictatorship that gets fawning western press coverage. There will be no scrutiny at all of the trillion $ that flows into the Ukrainian sinkhole. Just imagine how much will flow into the Bidens' and Zelensky's offshore accounts.

So of course they want to prolong this war. Every day ratchets the total tab up another $2-3 billion, and their take another $2-3 million.

If they can prolong the war another 2 years, we're looking at $2 trillion, with profits for the Biden family alone in the $20 million range.
Posted by Ebbeating Jusoter2943 2022-04-20 08:54||   2022-04-20 08:54|| Front Page Top

#11 You knew this was coming:

"The plan to rebuild a Green Ukraine: Ukraine could become the manufacturing engine for the EU Green Deal"

🤑
Posted by Solomon Tojo2970 2022-04-20 09:03||   2022-04-20 09:03|| Front Page Top

#12 "the EU Green Deal" 😂

Perfect! The playbook is almost complete. The Mouse That Roared... with green-graft, Pentagon-palooza

Plus, for the Disney audience, Zelensky can wear chaps and play an upright piano with his dick in Gay Pride parades all over Rump Ukraine.
Posted by Omese Big Foot3077 2022-04-20 09:12||   2022-04-20 09:12|| Front Page Top

#13 IMF says €500 bln. Zelensky says €1 trillion. It's going up by the week.

Watch your wallet
Posted by Glerert Gonque2525 2022-04-20 11:10||   2022-04-20 11:10|| Front Page Top

#14 If peace means Russia stuck in Ukraine and bleeding itself white and losing weapons it cannot replace, then I'm all for it.

^ As long as the US is not stuck right alongside them throwing money down a black hole to keep the MIC and it's associated retainers happy.

I liked how these two jived, and even with the covert arming, it should remain covert, not gum flappers and tiktokrs bragging up being involved in Flying Tigers or out of place equipment showing up like Scorpians. A free and independent Ukraine must win it on its own perhaps with supplied regional equipment and good intel or they will simply be a fodder vassal of the NATO/EU/and or USMIC conflict interest.

I'd say, say what you will about Russia in Ukraine, and their relationship with Iran, it sure has all the stink that Russia supplying Iran with Uranium was an Obama initiative which tapped Clinton's connections to use the McCain Weapons Train to make contact and organize physical transport while Team Biden was appointed with dealing with the financial aspects of the laundering via Ukrainian accounts, of which Zelenski would become the latest political face of.

As far as what goes on in the Dr. Who Booth, as the title suggests, who knows. All I know is by act or accident, Team Brandon manages to up the rhetoric and intent with calls for assassination and calls of genocide which is a legally binding charge, an established cause for aggressive military intervention. Did it fall out of his mouth like a Kamela job interview, sure, but there it is, the Face of Brandon escalating the tension.
FFS, the Brandon Officials are taking dictates from the Gardammed Easter Bunny.
Posted by swksvolFF 2022-04-20 11:28||   2022-04-20 11:28|| Front Page Top

#15 Gentlemen, gentlemen! There is money to be made here. Multiple scams are in play. We can all get our beaks wet. Or snouts, as the case may be.
Posted by SteveS 2022-04-20 11:41||   2022-04-20 11:41|| Front Page Top

#16 I see an opportunity to train our warthog pilots, on a volunteer basis, like Gen Chenaults 'flying tigers' of WWII. Face it ... conflicts are the best training ground and if you want well trained Warriors then ... I am not a warrior but we have had some...Ventura, Patton, Gavin, Forrest, Longstreet, Sherman, Grant ... ad infinitum. In my opinion it is the female who saves posterity and men who fight. "war means fighting and fighting means dying" NBF
Posted by irish rage boy  2022-04-20 11:52||   2022-04-20 11:52|| Front Page Top

#17 "Mr. President, fresh off your top level mission briefing with 8 year olds covering the strategic interests in Afghanistan, what call you tell our Allies to shore them up for a potential conflict in Ukraine?"

"New Hampshire."

-cut cut cut...first, no more phone calls until we get James Cromwell up to speed.-
Posted by swksvolFF 2022-04-20 11:56||   2022-04-20 11:56|| Front Page Top

#18 of course they want to prolong this war. Every day ratchets the total tab up another $2-3 billion, and their take another $2-3 million.

Economists calculating how much infrastructure investment would be required to restore lost GDP use a metric called ICOR, Incremental Capital-Output Ratio. That is the ratio of investment to growth, and the average across countries is about 5.

Ukraine is wildly corrupt, so a ratio of 6 or even 7 is more appropriate. If Ukraine loses 60% of its GDP as a result of the war's destruction, then the lost GDP will total about $110 billion. The cost to restore destroyed infrastructure would then be about $660-770 billion.

If the war goes on full tilt for another year, then Ukraine will lose more like 80% of GDP. That would require $1 trillion of reconstruction spending.

So Zelensky is right -- assuming the US can keep bleeding his country and keep the war going for another year.

Posted by Solomon Tojo2970 2022-04-20 12:06||   2022-04-20 12:06|| Front Page Top

#19 Antonov, try increasing the cash bribe amount. It's not like Sniffer Joe can't be bought...
Posted by Woodrow 2022-04-20 17:14||   2022-04-20 17:14|| Front Page Top

#20 The Big Guy's 10% of the upcoming $1 trillion Ukraine Build Back Grifter / Green New Deal program will equal $100 million... putting him in the same league as fellow demo-rat grifters Obama, Gore and the Clintons
Posted by Unereper Untervehr5106 2022-04-20 22:32||   2022-04-20 22:32|| Front Page Top

#21 Did I say $100 million? I meant $100 billion ... but who's counting?
Posted by Unereper Untervehr5106 2022-04-20 22:34||   2022-04-20 22:34|| Front Page Top

#22 By the time it goes through Hunter’s nose, Unereper Untervehr5106, it’ll be a mere $100 million.
Posted by trailing wife 2022-04-20 23:17||   2022-04-20 23:17|| Front Page Top

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