As of one week since the very significant, promising meeting in Alaska of Russian President Vladimir Putin and U.S.President Donald Trump, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov recorded an interview on Aug. 22 with NBC News’ “Meet the Press,” set for release in full this weekend. In it, Lavrov, as shown in the preview of his talk with host Kristen Welker, reiterates for Americans and the world the conditions for Putin to meet with Ukraine’s acting President Volodymyr Zelenskyy—an important, though not at all the only action follow-on discussed in Alaska. “Putin is ready to meet with Zelenskyy when the agenda is ready for a summit, and this agenda is not ready at all.”
Lavrov explained to Welker forcefully that in Alaska, it was understood by the two leaders that Washington and Moscow agreed “to show some flexibility” and work together, with mutual respect for the principles involved in resolving the Ukraine crisis. The principles include no NATO membership for Ukraine, and the issue of the “discussion of territorial issues,” and other points, Lavrov elaborates in the exclusive interview. But, he said, Zelenskyy has agreed to none of this.
Yesterday, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte went to Kiev, and held a press conference with Zelenskyy, grandstanding on NATO-type measures for Ukraine’s future. Various European “Coalition of the Willing” types are chest thumping over the prospect of Western troops in Ukraine. In this dead-end context, Ukraine leaders are reportedly working to provide a “framework” by next week for talks with Russia. Secretary of State Marco Rubio conferred yesterday with Zelenskyy’s head of the presidential office Andrii Yermak and others.
It is time to get serious and override the unreality in these dangerous prevarications. Plus there are additional crises to be addressed, especially the horrific situation in Gaza, and also the extreme danger in the growing warhawk cries for nuclear arms build-up. This is the time for Trump to join both Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping to confer on a way out of these disasters.
The immediate opportunity for such a trilateral meeting of these leaders is Sept. 3 in Beijing, on the occasion of the 80th anniversary celebration of China’s Victory in the War against Japanese Aggression and the World Anti-Fascist War. This is the time for conferring to make good on the commitment after World War II, that it would be “Never Again.” The calls issued this month by the Schiller Institute for such a meeting, and echoed by other voices, are now important to spread far and wide.
An initiative in this same direction is the open letter to President Donald Trump issued yesterday by four prominent Americans. Scott Ritter, Major, U.S. Marines (ret.) and UN weapons expert, reported on this to the International Peace Coalition’s 116th weekly meeting yesterday, while giving an account on his recent trip to Russia, for what he calls, “Citizen Diplomacy.”
The letter states to Trump, “We stand ready to work with you and your administration to further the cause of peace, reduce the threat of war, and promote mutually beneficial relations between the American and Russian people. In particular, we are ready to help serve as a catalyst for promoting effective arms control, which would include not only seeking an extension to the New START Treaty (scheduled to expire on February 2026), but also prevent a new arms race….” The three other signers are Theodore Postol, MIT professor, arms control expert; Ray McGovern, former CIA analyst; Dennis Kucinich, former Congressman from Ohio and former Presidential candidate.
Russia’s initiative at the United Nations this coming week, concerning the Nord Stream pipeline sabotage, is of strategic importance. The UN Security Council, at the request of Russia, will hold an emergency session Tuesday, Aug. 26 at 4 p.m., on the circumstances of the Nord Stream 2 sabotage. Dmitry Polyanskiy, Acting Permanent Representative to the UN from Russia, said on his Telegram channel yesterday: “Amid reports about the arrest of a suspect in organizing terror attacks on the Nord Streams in September 2022, Russia has requested an emergency UNSC meeting. We will be drawing attention to how the German investigation is being delayed and how non-transparent it has been for the Security Council.”
Getting out the truth of who committed the sabotage in September 2022, and how it was covered up, goes right to the core of restoring trust and diplomacy in the world, for nations to provide security and peace. The particulars of the incident were discussed yesterday on the meeting of the IPC among Schiller Institute leader Helga Zepp-LaRouche and weapons experts Scott Ritter, and Ted Postol.
Postol, who was an advisor to the U.S. Chief of Naval Operations, stressed that perpetrating the explosion required deep knowledge of underwater acoustics and other demands, which in no way could have been done by “a bunch of yahoos on some kind of yacht, handling multiple 100-pound munitions that would have to be placed at a very deep depth for divers on that pipeline.” He says that the narrative of that, connected to the Ukrainian national now under arrest in Italy, “sounds totally ridiculous,” it has “zero credibility.”
Postol stated, “Let me tell you, there is no doubt at all in my mind that the United States did it, and that Joe Biden ordered it. We have these statements made by Joe Biden before the actual attack on the pipeline occurred; they were visible.”
Zepp-LaRouche today stressed the consequences of this incident and its cover-up. On it rests, in many ways, the “entire tragic collapse of Europe,” all covered in lies. The sabotage marked “the whole geopolitical division of Europe from Russia.”
Now is the time to speak out and join up in the international mobilization. The UN Security Council session is Tuesday, Aug. 26. The next International Peace Coalition meeting is Friday, Aug. 28. The priority agenda date for humanity is September 3, 2025.
