We need direct talks with Russia and a negotiated settlement - The Guardian

Dear Mr President,

We constitute with appreciation for your committedness to Ukraine’s morganatic conflict against Russia’s warfare of aggression. Your enactment for the self-defense of an independent, sovereign and antiauthoritarian authorities has been supported by Congress, including done assorted appropriations of military, economical and humanitarian assistance successful furtherance of this cause. Your administration’s argumentation was captious to alteration the Ukrainian people, done their courageous warring and heroic sacrifices, to woody a historical subject decision to Russia, forcing Russia to dramatically standard backmost the stated goals of the invasion.

Crucially, you achieved this portion besides maintaining that it is imperative to debar nonstop subject struggle with Russia, which would pb to “world warfare III, thing we indispensable strive to prevent”. The hazard of atomic weapons being utilized has been estimated to beryllium higher present than astatine immoderate clip since the tallness of the acold war. Given the catastrophic possibilities of atomic escalation and miscalculation, which lone summation the longer this warfare continues, we hold with your extremity of avoiding nonstop subject struggle arsenic an overriding nationalist information priority.

Given the demolition created by this warfare for Ukraine and the world, arsenic good arsenic the hazard of catastrophic escalation, we besides judge it is successful the involvement of Ukraine, the United States and the satellite to debar a prolonged conflict. For this reason, we impulse you to brace the subject and economical enactment the United States has provided to Ukraine with a proactive diplomatic push, redoubling efforts to question a realistic model for a ceasefire. This is accordant with your recognition that “there’s going to person to beryllium a negotiated colony here,” and your concern that Vladimir Putin “doesn’t person a mode retired close now, and I’m trying to fig retired what we bash astir that”.

We are nether nary illusions regarding the difficulties progressive successful engaging Russia, fixed its outrageous and amerciable penetration of Ukraine and its determination to marque further amerciable annexations of Ukrainian territory. However, if determination is simply a mode to extremity the warfare portion preserving a escaped and autarkic Ukraine, it is America’s work to prosecute each diplomatic avenue to enactment specified a solution that is acceptable to the radical of Ukraine. Such a model would presumably see incentives to extremity hostilities, including immoderate signifier of sanctions alleviation and bring unneurotic the planetary assemblage to found information guarantees for a escaped and autarkic Ukraine that are acceptable for each parties, peculiarly Ukrainians. The alternate to diplomacy is protracted war, with some its attendant certainties and catastrophic and unknowable risks.

Russia’s penetration has caused incalculable harm for the radical of Ukraine, starring to the deaths of countless thousands of civilians, Ukrainian soldiers, and displacement of 13 cardinal people, portion Russia’s caller seizure of cities successful Ukraine’s eastbound person led to the astir pivotal infinitesimal successful the struggle and the consolidation of Russian power implicit astir 20% of Ukraine’s territory. The struggle threatens an further tens of millions much worldwide, arsenic skyrocketing prices successful wheat, fertilizer and substance spark acute crises successful planetary hunger and poverty. A warfare that is allowed to grind connected for years – perchance escalating successful strength and geographic scope – threatens to displace, kill, and immiserate acold much Ukrainians portion causing hunger, poverty, and decease astir the world. The struggle has besides contributed to elevated state and nutrient prices astatine home, fueling ostentation and precocious lipid prices for Americans successful caller months. Economists judge that if the concern successful Ukraine is stabilized, immoderate of the speculative concerns driving higher substance costs volition subside and apt pb to a driblet successful satellite lipid prices.

We hold with the administration’s perspective that it is not America’s spot to unit Ukraine’s authorities regarding sovereign decisions, and with the rule you person enunciated that determination should beryllium “nothing astir Ukraine without Ukraine”. But arsenic legislators liable for the expenditure of tens of billions of US payer dollars successful subject assistance successful the conflict, we judge specified engagement successful this warfare besides creates a work for the United States to earnestly research each imaginable avenues, including nonstop engagement with Russia, to trim harm and enactment Ukraine successful achieving a peaceful settlement.

In May, President Zelenskiy, contempt deadlocked negotiations, reiterated that the warfare “will lone definitively extremity done diplomacy”, and had antecedently explained that “any mentally steadfast idiosyncratic ever chooses the diplomatic path, due to the fact that helium oregon she knows: adjacent if it is difficult, it tin forestall the nonaccomplishment of thousands, tens of thousands …and possibly adjacent millions of lives.”

In conclusion, we impulse you to marque vigorous diplomatic efforts successful enactment of a negotiated colony and ceasefire, prosecute successful nonstop talks with Russia, research prospects for a caller European information statement acceptable to each parties, which volition let for a sovereign and autarkic Ukraine, and, successful coordination with our Ukrainian partners, question a accelerated extremity to the struggle and reiterate this extremity arsenic America’s main priority.

Pramila Jayapal, Member of Congress

Earl Blumenauer, Member of Congress

Cori Bush, Member of Congress

Jesús G “Chuy” García, Member of Congress

Raúl M Grijalva, Member of Congress

Sara Jacobs, Member of Congress

Ro Khanna, Member of Congress

Barbara Lee, Member of Congress

Ilhan Omar, Member of Congress

Ayanna Pressley, Member of Congress

Sheila Jackson Lee, Member of Congress

Mark Pocan, Member of Congress

Nydia M Velázquez, Member of Congress

Gwen S Moore, Member of Congress

Yvette D Clarke, Member of Congress

Henry C “Hank” Johnson Jr, Member of Congress

Rashida Tlaib, Member of Congress

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Member of Congress

Mondaire Jones, Member of Congress

Peter A DeFazio, Member of Congress

Jamaal Bowman, Member of Congress

Marie Newman, Member of Congress

Alma S Adams, Member of Congress

Chellie Pingree, Member of Congress

Jamie Raskin, Member of Congress

Bonnie Watson Coleman, Member of Congress

Mark Takano, Member of Congress

André Carson, Member of Congress

Donald M Payne Jr, Member of Congress

Mark DeSaulnier, Member of Congress