Sept. 13, 2022
From Jon Rainwater, Peace Action

Dear Peace Friends,
This week marks a week of action for peace in Ukraine. While news of Russian troops retreating from parts of Ukraine is encouraging, ultimately this conflict can only be turned into a sustainable peace through smart negotiations and diplomacy.
Indeed, diplomacy has already accomplished key successes, opening up channels for grain exports from Ukraine and securing inspections to help protect Europe’s largest nuclear reactor. But there is so much more diplomatic work to be done. President Biden is right that “at some point along the line there is going to have to be a diplomatic settlement.” But how long will it take for “some point” to arrive? Wars of attrition can grind on for years, as the belligerents seek to gain territorial advantage and put off inevitably negotiated solutions.
That’s why I’m asking for you to contact the White House and urge President Biden to take these critical steps to help bring an end to the war in Ukraine. 
Ask Biden to
– Call for a ceasefire to end the bloodshed and allow time for negotiations.
– Offer U.S. support for negotiations towards a settlement between Ukraine and Russia. Ukraine’s “Istanbul proposal” and the earlier Minsk agreements provide possible models.
– Directly engage with Russia to reduce U.S./Russia tensions, avert miscalculation, and to build a viable European security arrangement that includes nuclear arms reductions.
– Support debt relief and debt cancellation for Ukraine as it copes with the destruction of the war.
Ultimately there is no military solution to this intractable and complex global crisis. The longer the conflict goes on, the more bloodshed there will be. At the same time, the United Nations is warning of years of global hardship that include global “stagflation”, a refugee crisis, and severe disruptions to trade, food security, and human development. The UN is calling for urgent action to address this crisis, warning of a looming catastrophe that could bring global destabilization, starvation, and mass migration on an unprecedented scale.
Please contact President Biden today and demand to take these crucial diplomatic steps to help bring an end to the war in Ukraine.
Thank you for everything you do for peace,
Jon Rainwater
Executive Director