The other concession Russia made, according to Bennett, is that it wouldn't seek the disarmament of Ukraine. For the Ukrainian side, Zelenskyy "renounced" that he would seek NATO membership, which Bennett said was the "reason" for Russia's invasion.
Ultimately, the Western leaders opposed Bennett's efforts. "I'll say this in the broad sense. I think there was a legitimate decision by the West to keep striking Putin and not [negotiate]," Bennett said. When asked if the Western powers "blocked" the mediation efforts, Bennet said, "Basically, yes. They blocked it, and I thought they were wrong."
(4) In April 2022, Russia and Ukraine were close to an agreement to end the war according to a recent piece in Foreign Affairs journal. "Russian and Ukrainian negotiators appeared to have tentatively agreed on the outlines of a negotiated interim settlement," wrote Fiona Hill and Angela Stent. "Russia would withdraw to its position on February 23, when it controlled part of the Donbas region and all of Crimea, and in exchange, Ukraine would promise not to seek NATO membership and instead receive security guarantees from a number of countries."
The problem was that no Western country or the European Union was interested in helping Zelenskyy realize his peace objective. Ukraine's Western allies, the United States and United Kingdom in particular, refused to support the neutrality agreement and persuaded Ukraine to abandon its negotiations with Russia. U.S. and British officials said at the time that they saw a chance to "press" and "weaken" Russia, and that they wanted to make the most of that opportunity.
Nothing can excuse the Russian invasion of Ukraine. But the U.S. and the Ukrainians tragically, inexcusably and intentionally missed numerous diplomatic chances of averting or stopping this war. Sadly, the U.S. has been consistently adamant in opposing peace initiatives to prevent or end the war.
[1] Largely derived from War in Ukraine: Making Sense of a Senseless Conflict by Medea Benjamin and Nicolas J.S. Davies OR Books, New York, 2022.
[2] Including threats against Zelenskyy's life by a Ukrainian far-right leader
[3] "Former Israeli PM Bennett says US 'blocked' his attempts at a Russia-Ukraine peace deal," Grayzone, February 23, 2023.
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