From the efforts of Turkey, Italy and Israel in the spring of 2022, to the May 2023 announcement by Danish Foreign Minister Rasmussen that his country is willing to host a peace summit, Medea Benjamin — co-founder of CODEPINK — asks what it will take to get the US and NATO to end opposition to peace.
Seymour Hersh reports that leaders of Poland, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia are eager to end the war and rebuild Ukraine, in part to address the refugee situation. On May 23, Hungarian President Viktor Orban said, “Looking at the fact that NATO is not ready to send troops, it’s obvious that there is no victory for poor Ukrainians on the battlefield.”
China’s peace initiative has been taken up through Li Hui’s meetings with Putin, Zelensky, Kuleba, and European leaders. Brazilian President Lula da Silva has appointed former foreign minister Celso Amorim as his peace envoy. Amorim has also met with both Putin and Zelensky.
On May 16, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa and other African leaders added their voices through the announcement of a mission by six African presidents, led by Senegal President Macy Sally, who was recently the Chairman of the African Union. South Africa and Senegal are joined by Congo, Egypt, Uganda, and Zambia. Pope Francis continues to work for peace, including through his appointment of Cardinal Matteo Zuppi as peace envoy.
But, Benjamin asks, “will any of these initiatives bear fruit?” This depends on changing US and NATO opposition to peace talks.
