Background Briefing: August 6, 2023
Ukraine Tries to Woo the BRICS Nations to Get Aboard Their Peace Plan
We begin with the peace talks underway in Saudi Arabia at which 40 nations have sent senior officials to discuss Ukraine’s 10-point peace plan. With Russia not invited it is clear there is an attempt underway to appeal to the BRICS nations, Brazil, China, India and South Africa to stop supporting Russia or to get off the fence in finding a way to end the war. Joining us is someone who has met with Russia’s Foreign Minister Lavrov back in April in an effort to find a peaceful solution to the war in Ukraine, Charles Kupchan, who was director for European Affairs on the National Security Council during the Clinton administration. He is now a professor of International Affairs in Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service, and spent the last 3 years of the Obama administration as Special Assistant to President Obama for National Security. He is the author of How Enemies Become Friends: The Sources of Stable Peace, and his latest, Isolationism: A History of America’s Efforts to Shield Itself from the World.
Did Saudi Arabia Make a Mistake in Not Inviting Russia to the Peace Talks?
Then we speak with George Beebe who feels that Saudi Arabia is making a significant mistake by not inviting the Russians to participate in the Jeddah peace summit because there can be no meaningful progress toward a peace deal that doesn’t include both parties to the conflict. The Director of Grand Strategy at the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft, he served in government for nearly twenty-five years, including as director of Russia analysis at CIA and as a White House adviser on Russia matters for Vice President Dick Cheney. His latest book is The Russia Trap: How Our Shadow War with Russia Could Spiral into Nuclear Catastrophe.
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