The Russian media massively reported that the White House was building pressure on official Kiev, led by Zelensky, to start peace talks with Moscow although not a single U.S. official said anything of the sort, and not a single U.S. media outlet wrote anything of the sort. Who was behind this misinformation about the U.S. being ready for peace talks?
Anonymous “Sources” are Authorized to say
If the media is publishing bogus stories about the talks one by one, it means it reflects the views of part of the Russian elite.
“Why is the U.S. leaning on Zelensky to negotiate with Russia?” wrote the Vzglyad business daily, analyzing an article in The Washington Post.
“The U.S. is sending Russia peace-loving signals that are resented in Kiev,” fantasized Ukraine.ru.
“It needs to be softer. Why is the U.S. changing its rhetoric on negotiations with Russia and are they pushing Ukraine toward peace?” the Ukrainian edition of Strana wrote, drawing the long bow.
In fact, Washington has not changed its rhetoric one bit, and the U.S. media have not written a single credible word about the White House encouraging Ukrainian leaders to negotiate peace with Russia.
In politics, only official statements by top officials – the very people who make the decisions – matter, and not always. On November 1, the only official statement which mentioned the word “negotiations” was made by John Kirby, Coordinator for Strategic Communications at the U.S. National Security Council. Kirby simply stated the banal idea that the war would one day be over and we would have to negotiate peace. Not even the most recent White House clerk said anything more about a willingness to negotiate with Russia.
Kirby explained that the U.S. will continue to help Ukraine because victories on the battlefield are to strengthen Kiev's negotiating position. As we can see, this does not fit with the thesis that the withdrawal of the Russian military from Kherson would help Moscow in the negotiation process.
“But what we're going to do, as the president made clear, we're going to support them for as long as it takes to make sure that they can succeed on the battlefield, as they have been succeeding in recent days,” Kirby said.
The Washington Post, quoted by many publications from the official media to some unknown newspaper, refers to unnamed anonymous sources. Simply put, such “sources” are worth a penny on market day.
“The Biden administration is privately encouraging Ukraine’s leaders to signal an openness to negotiate with Russia and drop their public refusal to engage in peace talks unless President Vladimir Putin is removed from power, according to people familiar with the discussions," The Washington Post wrote.
To be fair, in fact, The Washington Post reported exactly the opposite: the White House is not demanding that Zelensky return to the negotiating table with Russia. But the “impartial” media, trumpeting how “the U.S. is pushing Zelensky to negotiate with Russia,” doesn't tell us that.
“The request by American officials is not aimed at pushing Ukraine to the negotiating table, these people said. Rather, they called it a calculated attempt to ensure the government in Kyiv maintains the support of other nations facing constituencies wary of fueling a war for many years to come,” The Washington Post wrote.
As one can see, in fact, The Washington Post wrote directly that the White House's agitation for Kiev to demonstrate its willingness to negotiate is nothing more than a political maneuver. The purpose of this political maneuver is to keep official Kiev supported by the U.S. and EU countries in the form of money, weapons and military equipment, ammunition, medical supplies, etc. In other words, The Washington Post is not talking about any peace talks. The influential U.S. publication warns directly that this is a deceptive maneuver to preserve military aid for Kiev.
Some media outlets claim that the U.S. is demanding peace talks from Kiev, citing a publication in The Wall Street Journal. However, there is no point in discussing the article in The Wall Street Journal at all because the central thesis, which the authors of the article put in the subtitle, says: “Putin’s escalation has convinced most Western capitals there is no prospect of peace talks soon.” In general, the article, titled “West Sees Little Choice but to Keep Backing Ukraine,” focuses on the fact that Washington and its allies see no prospect of ending the war in Ukraine.
Classic of Disinformation
It must be said that Russian and foreign experts have different opinions on the publications in the foreign media about how “Washington is pushing Kiev to negotiate.” Russian political scientist Boris Mezhuev, assessing the overall context, concluded that there are, in fact, plans to freeze the conflict. Mezhuev posted his opinion on Facebook* (owned by Meta, a corporation recognized as extremist in Russia.)
“That's it. Everyone started talking about ‘freezing’ the conflict. Everyone started calling for it. Even the former fans of TNWs (tactical nuclear weapons – ed.note by wek.ru),” Mezhuev said.
At the same time, Mezhuev explained that he does not believe in the prospects for peace and considers a ‘Korean draw,’ that is, freezing the conflict without a peace treaty, more likely.
“I have said a thousand times that there is no formula for peace, there is the option of a 'Korean draw' - a temporary freezing of the conflict without a diplomatic solution. Everyone will be preparing for a new war, of course. Let's hope that the preparation will take forever,” Mezhuev said, expressing his hope.
Vijay Prashad, director of Tricontinental: Institute for Social Research and editor-in-chief of LeftWord Books (New Delhi, India), calls the Washington Post article a “classic example of disinformation” on Twitter (blocked in Russia for violating “key principles of free flow of information and unimpeded access to Russian media on foreign Internet platforms.”)
“What we have before us is a classic example of disinformation implemented by the U.S. government through The Washington Post. It looks like the article has the following headline: ‘The U.S. privately asks Ukraine to show that it is open to negotiations with Russia. This misinforms the reader,” wrote the Indian international journalist.
“The reader may think that Washington is trying to push Kiev into negotiations. But that is not what the article says at all. The authors make that clear in the second paragraph, which deserves close reading,” Prashad said.
In fact, according to Prashad, Washington is in favor of keeping the war going.
According to him, “in other words, the U.S. wants the following:
1) Zelensky says he wants negotiations, but the Russians refuse;
2) Allies, who face the threat of protests over rising living costs, turn to their nations and say it's Putin's fault;
3) Protests are over;
4) The war continues.”
Who is Behind Bogus Story Operation
Why are the Russian media massively spreading this disinformation? Because part of the Russian elite is in favor of peace talks with Ukraine and a freezing of the military conflict. And this part of the elite wants to believe in the U.S. readiness for peace talks so much that they are willing to see ‘signs’ from Washington even in such publications as The Washington Post, which really belong in the “rumors and gossip” column.
In the public arena, the billionaire Roman Abramovich was spotted as a representative of the interests of this group of the Russian elite. “Collective Abramovich” needs to draw the Kremlin into the negotiation process, for which purpose he ‘threw in’ information as if the U.S. is ready to negotiate with Russia. But if Moscow agrees to such negotiations with those whom Russian President Vladimir Putin has publicly called “a gang of drug addicts and neo-Nazis”, the collective Abramovich does not say anything about the fact that Moscow will enter into the process with a weak negotiating position. After the “regrouping” in the Kharkov region and the “difficult decisions” in the form of the withdrawal of the Russian military from Kherson, Russia's negotiating position looks very weak. Now this ‘collective Abramovich’ is shaping public opinion, even if it happens in the I-made-it-up-and-I-believed-it-myself manner.
* On March 21, 2022, the American multinational holding company Meta was declared extremist and banned in the Russian Federation. Meta Platforms Inc. is the parent company of the social networks Facebook and Instagram. Facebook and Instagram are also recognized as extremist organizations, their activity is prohibited on the territory of the Russian Federation.