We were informed yesterday that Russia had sent a written response to the U.S. State Department after receiving our own official offer to them last week. Considering how badly the discussions at the United Nations Security Council went yesterday, there wasn’t much optimism in terms of a breakthrough in the negotiations. Last night, however, Russia’s Deputy Foreign Minister told a state television network that the announcement from the White House was “not true” and that Moscow is still working on the official written response. Muddying the waters further, the Foreign Ministry then said that they had sent “a message” to Antony Blinken on a related topic, but that was not the official response the White House claimed to have received. So what the heck is going on here? (Associated Press)

Washington has provided Moscow with a written response to the demands, and on Monday three Biden administration officials said that the Russian government sent a written response to the U.S. proposals. A State Department official has declined to offer details about the document, saying it “would be unproductive to negotiate in public” and that they would leave it up to Russia to discuss the counterproposal.

But Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko on Tuesday told Russia’s state RIA Novosti news agency that this was “not true.” …

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters Tuesday that there has been “confusion” and said that Russia’s response to the U.S. proposals is still in the works. What was passed on to Western officials “were other considerations, on a somewhat different issue,” Peskov said.

I suppose “confusion” is as good of a way to describe this as anything else and we probably shouldn’t be surprised given the state of foreign affairs over the course of this White House administration thus far. It also seems as if Russia is making more of a big deal out of this than is warranted. The Biden administration sent our “official” written proposal regarding Ukraine to Moscow last week and we have been waiting to receive their response. When a letter for Blinken arrived dealing with “the principle of indivisibility of security,” (could that be any more vaguely worded?) I suppose it wasn’t unreasonable for Blinken to believe that was their official response.

What’s more concerning to me, though apparently not to most of our mainstream media, is that we were once again given no details of the “offer” to Moscow and don’t expect to be shown their response when it finally arrives. You’ll notice that one of Blinken’s spokespeople would only say that “it would be unproductive to negotiate in public.”

Seriously? We have the Gang That Can’t Shoot Straight negotiating a situation that could potentially lead to the first massive land war in Europe in living memory and they are keeping every aspect of the negotiations secret from the American public? Biden and Blinken are not crafting deals that only affect their personal and political careers. These negotiations affect everyone, and not just here in the United States. What happens in these negotiations literally impacts nearly everyone in the world. What sort of offers are we being committed to? And who will be on the hook to make good on those offers if they somehow reach an agreement with Moscow?

This is no different than the ongoing negotiations that Biden is engaging in with the Taliban. The public has no idea what sort of promises are being made or payments are being sent. Everything is being done in absolute secrecy and I don’t hear anyone at CNN or NBC News complaining about their lack of access to “the most transparent administration ever.” I would suggest that this is turning into an impeachable situation if we wouldn’t wind up being stuck with Kamala Harris in the aftermath. (Which could arguably be a lot worse.)

Meanwhile, Biden continues to puff up his chest in public and show that he’s playing the tough guy with Putin. Yesterday, the White House once again promised a “swift and severe” response if Putin attacks Ukraine. (Daily Mail)

[U.S. Ambassador to the UN Linda] Thomas-Greenfield said Moscow’s mobilization of troops is the largest seen ‘in Europe in decades.’

As it was underway, President Biden released a statement warning of ‘swift and severe’ consequences if Russia invades Ukraine.

‘If Russia is sincere about addressing our respective security concerns through dialogue, the United States and our Allies and partners will continue to engage in good faith,’ Biden said. ‘If instead Russia chooses to walk away from diplomacy and attack Ukraine, Russia will bear the responsibility, and it will face swift and severe consequences.’

This seems unwise. If Vladimir Putin was already viewing the decision to invade Ukraine as a foregone conclusion, he could have started by now. The ground is fully frozen, allowing for the movement of heavy vehicles and artillery. He has more than enough troops in place and could quickly move more into the region. And every day that he delays serves as one more day for NATO allies to ship more weapons and equipment to Kyiv, making the capital better able to defend itself and inflict more damage on Russia’s troops. It’s really beginning to look like Putin is having second thoughts, assuming he really did plan to invade to begin with.

But there is obviously a limit to how much public scolding Vladimir Putin will tolerate before realizing that he’s being made to look weak and impotent on the world stage. Perhaps this is the moment to back off from the aggressive rhetoric for a bit and give him the chance to come up with a proposal where he doesn’t invade but still saves face. This is an extremely delicate situation at the moment and one of the greatest foreign policy challenges any president is likely to face. Sadly, I am not at all confident that we have the best possible people for the job at the helm.