(Washington) Elected officials among the most left of the Democratic Party withdrew a letter on Tuesday calling on President Biden to negotiate with Russia, regretting that their initiative gave the impression of alignment with certain elected Republicans.
Posted at 4:36 p.m.
Pramila Jayapal, a figure in the Democratic Party’s progressive wing, took responsibility for the embarrassing reversal, saying the letter in question was made public on Monday without going through a proper approval process.
In this document, these thirty elected progressives called on the American president to “deploy vigorous diplomatic efforts in support of a negotiated settlement and a ceasefire, (and) to engage in direct talks with Russia”.
This position, motivated by concerns about the risk of escalation between Russia and NATO, contrasted with the support that Joe Biden enjoyed from the side of the Democrats on his policy of outspoken support for Ukraine and firmness vis-à-vis Ukraine. -towards Moscow.
Mme Jayapal regretted that the letter was “associated” with recent remarks made by the leader of the Republicans in the House of Representatives, Kevin McCarthy.
He recently claimed that his party would not sign a “blank cheque” to Ukraine if it wins, as polls predict, the majority of House seats in the November 8 midterm elections. .
The temporal proximity of these statements and the publication of this letter “created the unfortunate appearance that the Democrats […] are somehow aligned with Republicans who want to withdraw US support for (Ukrainian) President Zelensky,” Pramila Jayapal said in a statement.