Dear President Putin:
Since the Russian Federation invaded Ukraine on February 24 this year I have tried to use my small influence to encourage a ceasefire and a diplomatic settlement that addresses the security needs of both Ukraine and the Russian Federation.
In that endeavor I have written two open letters to Mrs Olena Zelenska, the the wife of the Ukrainian president. These letters are readily available on the Internet. I am increasingly asked to write to you too, so here goes.
First, would you like to see an end to this war? If you were to reply and say, “Yes please,” that would immediately make things a lot easier. If you were to come out and say, “Also the Russian Federation has no further territorial interest beyond the security of the Russian-speaking populations of the Crimea, Donetsk and Luhansk,” that would help too.
I say this because I know some people who think you want to overrun the whole of Europe, starting with Poland and the rest of the Baltic states.
If you do, f**k you, and we might as well all stop playing the desperately dangerous game of nuclear chicken that the hawks on both sides of the Atlantic seem so comfortable with, and have at it. Yup, just blow each other and the world to smithereens.
The problem is, I have kids and grandkids, and so do most of my brothers and sisters all over the world. and none of us would relish that outcome. So please, Mr Putin, indulge me, and make us that assurance.
All right, back to the table. If I’ve read your previous speeches correctly, you would like to negotiate a state of neutrality for a sovereign neighboring Ukraine. Is that correct? Assuming such a peace could be negotiated, it would have to include an absolutely binding agreement not to invade anyone ever again.
I know, I know, the USA and NATO invade other sovereign countries at the drop of a hat, or for a few barrels of oil, but that doesn’t mean you should. Your invasion of Ukraine took me completely by surprise, it was a heinous war of aggression, provoked or not.
When Mrs Zelenska replied to me via Twitter, I was very surprised and mightily moved. If you were to reply to me, I would mightily respect you for it, and take it as an honorable move in the right direction toward a sustainable peace.
Yours sincerely,
Roger Waters
