Strangers Talking About What's Important

The world is still in danger.

The penultimate month of the year is drawing to a close. It feels strange and even vague. There was a lot of hope and naive expectation. What about the new cadence of unpredictable President Trump, his second term. New opportunities, bold ideas. We just have to survive the dreary days of January, wait for him to take office. And then!...

We have. Not only the inauguration. And the first hundred days of the president's term went by in a flash. And it turned out to be all for nothing. Hoping in vain. The same year of vain expectations. Only the incorrigible optimists were not disappointed. Still waiting for something. Especially the end of the war. And this is where both skeptics and optimists suddenly got lucky.

When everyone was almost resigned to the cruel hopelessness, suddenly appeared, as if from nowhere, some strange plan. Axios was the first to publish it. No one disavowed the document. But for some reason, everyone was desperate to get rid of it. It didn't fit anyone. The text is flimsy, eclectic. But for some reason it was decided to promote this particular opus. And to start with, to refine it. To find a compromise version. And it was as if Trump himself suggested that it be passed without delay - by Thanksgiving. Why not earlier and not later? Hardly anyone pondered this and other oddities. Time had suddenly taken on a high value. Somewhere nearby, the long-awaited peace was already looming. The echoes of the Munich of the past century could be clearly heard in the autumn air. But the last Thursday in November, by Trump's will, dominated everything else. And so onward to Thanksgiving!

And now European leaders have gathered in Geneva. Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky was invited there. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has also arrived, who has just spoken briefly but clearly about the eclectic essay: "This is not our plan." So whose is it...? But there was no time to waste on trivialities. No time was wasted. Wherever the idea came from, it didn't matter so much - the process had begun, as they used to say in the old days.

The gathered appreciated first of all the ghostly possibility of at least the beginning of some movement towards peace and tried not to miss it. As a result, a new version of the plan emerged, with 19 instead of 28 points. The same Rubio was less categorical about it than the day before. "This is a living, breathing document. It changes every day, taking into account the proposals that come in." And here's White House press secretary Caroline Leavitt giving reporters the happy news: "There are only a few differences left that our teams continue to work on." So, the way out of the hopeless deadlock by joint efforts found?

And then suddenly and with the authorship of the original project something became clear. The Wall Street Journal reported that the first version of the text belongs to Jared Kushner and Steve Whitkoff. They sketched something out in rough draft when they returned from the Middle East, inspired by the just-signed peace agreement in Gaza. And really, why not capitalize on the inspirational momentum and put off ending this inordinately protracted war as well? What a problem! It was said - done.

The only thing left to do was to call those who had full knowledge of the Kremlin's problems. Kirill Dmitriev, the same official who had recently become a familiar face in court reports, presented almost instantly the very draft that scrupulously took into account all of Putin's "wishes" for the end of the war. It was no longer Thanksgiving, but the arrival of Santa Claus, which was not even expected. And then the technology was the usual - hardware.

The result was a contract of the century. Ukraine was offered to unconditionally surrender Donbass, to reduce the Armed Forces, to refuse to join NATO, even stipulating it in the Constitution. And there was also an amnesty for everyone. No one was guilty of anything. And all those who committed heinous crimes in Bucha and other captured territories are not tainted by anything. And those who tortured, shot, robbed, raped will never be guilty of anything. You should have thought of that. And to create such a "document".

Yes, of course, all this caused outrage and protests. European leaders understand perfectly well what is behind it. But they have not rejected this more than bizarre opus. They are simply finalizing the same original document. It just has fewer points. But the essence hasn't disappeared. And no good intentions will be an excuse.

The world is still in danger. Putin's drones are quietly penetrating EU airspace. They are no longer just near its eastern borders. They're over Eindhoven airport. Russian warships are frequenting Britain's shores. Is no one expecting a squadron there?

There is no need for Munich in these times. It is only important not to notice that something strange is going on with some far from ordinary document. And one of the world's mightiest powers pretends that it sees no difference between the sides in the protracted war in Europe. It does not matter who is the aggressor, and who reflects the invasion of the brutalized horde. As long as everything goes on as usual. It is only a pity that they did not have time to make peace by Thanksgiving.

And otherwise, everything is in order.

Vladimir Khalip, especially for Charter97.org.

You can support the website Charter97.org

MULTI-CURRENCY ACCOUNT FOR ASSISTANCE:

Bank's name: Bank Millennium S.A.
Address: ul. Stanislawa Zaryna, 2A, 02-593, Warszawa
IBAN: PL97116022020000000216711123
SWIFT: BIGBPLPW
Name of the account holder: Fundacja “KARTA ‘97”
Purpose/title of payment: Donation for statuary aims

You can contact us by the e-mail [email protected]