Look Who’s Talking: America, Russia, Ukraine, China, and Palestine, by Ted Snider

Somebody once said that talk-talk is superior to war-war. He got that right. From Ted Snider at libertarianinstitute.org:

In recent weeks, a flurry of unexpected talks and signals of willingness for talks have taken place that provide hope in a number of war zones. The U.S. is talking to Russia, there are openings for Russia to talk to Ukraine, Ukraine is talking to China, and China is talking to Palestine.

At the beginning of August, the United States and Russia completed a prisoner exchange. The Western media obsessed over two details. One being the fact that it was the biggest prisoner exchange between the U.S. and Russia since the end of the Cold War. And second, that there was a gaping moral inequivalence between Putin and the prisoners he got back compared with the West and the prisoners they got back.

But there are two more significant details that the Western media ignored. The first is that the U.S. and Russia have practically not talked at all since the war in Ukraine began. During the Cold War, the two sides frequently communicated. Whereas during the Ukraine war, the lines of communication have been cut.

This complicated prisoner exchange shows not only that the two sides are still capable of talking, but that they have been talking. It may be a stretch to suggest the exchange is a confidence building measure upon which negotiations regarding the war itself can be built. However, the successful prisoner negotiations undoubtedly demonstrate that, even though U.S.-Russian relations are currently at their worst, diplomacy can still work if both sides commit to it.

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