More than 100 U.S. national and regional organizations released a joint statement yesterday urging U.S. President Biden “to end the U.S. role in escalating the extremely dangerous tensions with Russia over Ukraine,” calling it “gravely irresponsible for the President to participate in brinkmanship between two nations, which possess 90% of the world’s nuclear weapons.”
Today a high-level virtual news conference including former U.S. Ambassador to Moscow Jack F. Matlock, Jr.; Katrina vanden Heuvel, President of the American Committee for U.S.-Russia Accord; and Martin Fleck, representing Physicians for Social Responsibility, took place at noon and lasting for two hours.
Organizations which signed the statement included Physicians for Social Responsibility, RootsAction.org, Code Pink, Just Foreign Policy, Peace Action, Veterans for Peace, Our Revolution, MADRE, Progressive Democrats of America, American Committee for U.S.-Russia Accord, Pax Christi, USA, Fellowship of Reconciliation, Center for Citizen Initiatives, and the Campaign for Peace, Disarmament and Common Security. Code Pink and RootsAction.org coordinated outreach for the statement.
The statement opens: “As organizations representing millions of people in the United States, we call upon President Biden to end the U.S. role in escalating the extremely dangerous tensions with Russia over Ukraine. It is gravely irresponsible for the president to participate in brinkmanship between two nations that possess 90% of the world’s nuclear weapons.”
The statement concludes: “While both sides are to blame for causing this crisis, its roots are entangled in the failure of the U.S. government to live up to its promise made in 1990 by then-Secretary of State James Baker that NATO would expand not ‘one inch to the East.’ Since 1999, NATO has expanded to include numerous countries, including some that border Russia. Rather than dismissing out of hand the Russian government’s current insistence on a written guarantee that Ukraine will not become part of NATO, the U.S. government should agree to a long-term moratorium on any NATO expansion.” (https://www.codepink.org/over_100_us_orgs_call_for_de_escalation_and_talks_with_russia)
An online forum this morning held by the American Committee on East-West Accord (ACURA) took place which featured the last U.S. Ambassador to the Soviet Union Jack F. Matlock, Jr. (1987-1991), moderated by ACURA president Katrina vanden Heuvel, with comments from representatives of Physicians for Social Responsibility. Medea Benjamin of Code Pink announced rallies and protests around the U.S. on Saturday, Feb. 3.
