US President Joe Biden and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky speak often on the phone. But on a phone call in June, the conversation went very differently. Biden told Zelensky that he had just authorized $1 billion for more military assistance. Instead of...
It Was Never About Ukraine
In his March 21 press briefing, State Department spokesman Ned Price told the gathered reporters that “President Zelenskyy has also made it very clear that he is open to a diplomatic solution that does not compromise the core principles at the heart of the...
The Cuba Embargo: Isolating America
Once a year, Cuba raises its head above the fence around America’s backyard and calls out to the world to condemn its imprisonment. And, once a year, the US, despite all its lofty rhetoric of international order and democracy, ignores the voice of the United Nations...
Signs of Diplomacy in Ukraine? Finding a Faint Pulse.
As the intense combat and missile strikes show, peace is still a distant hope in Ukraine. But, for the first time in a long time, a faint diplomatic pulse has been found. In early November, National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr...
Is this the Time for Peace?
For months, the US refused to hold any diplomatic talks with Russia. Then, suddenly, on November 6, it was revealed that National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan "has been in contact with Yuri Ushakov, a foreign-policy adviser to Mr. Putin" and with Russia’s...
Checking In On China-Russia Relations
Xi Xinping and Vladimir Putin have said that their "relationship even exceeds an alliance in its closeness and effectiveness." They have said that the "friendship between the two States has no limits" and that it is "a relationship that...
Look Who’s Talking Slivers of Hope in Ukraine
There is no scarcity of reasons to despair of hope for a push for a diplomatic solution to the war in Ukraine. Thirty Democrats in the House were pilloried for suggesting only that the US open diplomatic channels parallel to full military and economic support for...
First Strike: The US and the World’s Most Dangerous Nuclear Policy
On October 27, Russian President Vladimir Putin said he would not use nuclear weapons; on the same day, US President Joe Biden said he would. Two days earlier, at talks being held between the US, Japan and South Korea, Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman explained...
US Admits Iran Is Not Building a Nuclear Bomb
America’s top diplomat for negotiating a nuclear deal with Iran said on October 30 that the US is not going to "waste time" trying to keep the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) nuclear deal alive. President Biden’s special envoy for Iran, Robert...
Four Ways Lula’s Victory Will Reshape the US-Led World
On October 30, former President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva once again became president of Brazil. In the first round of the election, Lula DA Silva won 48% of the vote versus 43% for the incumbent Jair Bolsonaro. Falling short of the 50% required to win in the...


