Urging Biden to Halt Use of 'Reckless' Rhetoric About Putin, National
Organizations Call for 'Constructive Bilateral Talks'
By RootsAction
30 March 21
Twenty-seven national organizations issued a joint statement Tuesday
decrying the recent negative salvoes between President Biden and Russian
President Vladimir Putin and urging the Biden administration to "stop
participating in such reckless rhetorical exchanges."
Groups signing the statement included Demand Progress, Just Foreign Policy,
Justice Democrats, Our Revolution, Progressive Democrats of America,
RootsAction.org, the Union of Concerned Scientists, Veterans for Peace, Win
Without War, and World Beyond War.
"We are deeply alarmed by the recent negative exchanges between leaders of
the two countries with more than 90 percent of the world's nuclear warheads
in their arsenals," the statement says. "As Americans, we urge the Biden
administration to stop participating in such reckless rhetorical exchanges
and to instead vigorously pursue nuclear-arms negotiations with the Russian
government."
The statement urges Biden to "make good on his stated commitment" in a Feb.
4 speech that pledged "diplomacy is back at the center of our foreign
policy." With tensions rising among the two nuclear superpowers, the
organizations said, "the need for constructive bilateral talks to address
the clear and present dangers of the nuclear arms race has never been more
apparent."
Pia Gallegos, chair of the RootsAction board, said: "With vast nuclear
arsenals on hair-trigger alert, Washington and Moscow have unimaginable
power to destroy human life. President Biden has a profound duty to decrease
the chances of a global nuclear holocaust. We must insist on a consistently
diplomatic approach. Instead of engaging in holier-than-thou rhetoric, Biden
should be constructively engaging with Russia as a partner to safeguard
human survival."
"The grassroots progressive base of the Democratic Party has zero interest
in a bellicose foreign policy towards Putin or Russia," said Alan Minsky,
executive director of Progressive Democrats of America. "What people want is
a safer world with international cooperation, which will allow all of us to
rebound more quickly from the public health and economic catastrophe of the
past year. We have no patience for Cold War saber-rattling, let alone
nuclear brinkmanship."
Below is the full text of the joint statement and a list of the signing
organizations.
As national organizations that advocate for diplomacy, arms control,
disarmament and peace, we are deeply alarmed by the recent negative
exchanges between leaders of the two countries with more than 90 percent of
the world's nuclear warheads in their arsenals. As Americans, we urge the
Biden administration to stop participating in such reckless rhetorical
exchanges and to instead vigorously pursue nuclear-arms negotiations with
the Russian government. The need for constructive bilateral talks to address
the clear and present dangers of the nuclear arms race has never been more
apparent. With great urgency, we call upon President Biden to make good on
his stated commitment that "diplomacy is back at the center of our foreign
policy."
Signing organizations
Action Corps
American Committee for U.S.-Russia Accord
Backbone Campaign
Blue America
Campaign for Peace, Disarmament and Common Security
Center for Citizen Initiatives
Demand Progress
Environmentalists Against War
Global Network Against Weapons and Nuclear Power in Space
Historians for Peace and Democracy
Just Foreign Policy
Justice Democrats
Muslim Delegates and Allies Coalition
Nuclear Age Peace Foundation
NuclearBan.US
Other98
Our Revolution
People for Bernie
Progressive Democrats of America
RootsAction.org
Union of Concerned Scientists
U.S. Palestinian Community Network
Veterans for Peace
Win Without War
Women's International League for Peace and Freedom, U.S.
World Beyond War
Yemen Relief and Reconstruction Foundation
Miriam's comment: Where are all of the socialist parties and the Green Pary?
Why are they not on this list?