To Whom It May Concern,
As is known, the president of the United States Joe Biden expressed his conditional interest to speak with Russian President Vladimir Putin after his meeting with French President Immanuel Macron, who is on a state visit to the United States. According to available sources including the BBC, the US president expressed his intention to talk with his Russian counterpart only after consultation with NATO if the latter shows an interest in ending the war in Ukraine while addressing reporters alongside the French president, who made several efforts earlier and still looks for a solution to the crisis. No doubt, the interest of the US president is commendable and may lead to the ending of the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war.
It is pertinent to note that the Russia-Ukraine war has been going on for more than nine months but there is no sign of its end. More importantly, there was no notable effort from any side to find any solution to the war based on talks. Several diplomatic initiatives were taken just before the beginning of Russia’s Special Operation in Ukraine to prevent Russia from its invasion of Ukraine. The most notable and successful diplomatic effort on the war was made by the Turkish president and the United Nations Secretary General that resulted in an agreement with Russia to provide a safe corridor for the export of Ukraine’s grains through the Black Sea especially at the time when food shortage was growing in seve ral countries of the world.
No doubt, the continuation of the Russia-Ukraine war, which has already led to heavy consequences, will not only kill more soldiers and civilians, displace more civilians and destroy buildings and other establishments but also bring more economic and other consequences for directly and indirectly involved parties and the whole world. But there are many complicated developments of the war and challenges to its solution. While Russia considers four newly annexed territories as its own, Ukraine wants to hold back such territories. Moreover, there are other notable problems including sanctions and counter-sanctions imposed by the West over Russia and Russia over the West. Consequently, the war may not be ended with a single talk between the presidents of the USA and Russia.
But Dhaka Opinion Magazine believes that their talks can help to find out acceptable and effective ways to end the war. It is desired that talks between the leaders take place with the intention to end the Russia-Ukraine war. But the possibility of talks between the presidents still remains far away. While it is conditional from the USA’s side, there is no expression from Russia on this yet, even if the latter differently expressed its intention to talk about the war several times. In this respect, efforts need to be continued to make sure that direct talks are held between the presidents on the ending of the war.
Amir M Sayem
Chief Editor
Dhaka Opinion Magazine
