Yesterday’s surprise visit by US President Joe Biden to the capital of Ukraine, Kyiv, was a calculated propaganda coup and in the mold of some of his predecessors in the White House.
President John Kennedy went to Berlin in 1963, as the Cold War grew colder, to declare solidarity: “Ich bin ein Berliner (I am a Berliner).”
In 1987, President Ronald Reagan stood near the Brandenburg Gate, facing the Berlin Wall, and told the then leader of the Soviet Union: “Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!” Interestingly, these photo opportunities have all been targeted at the Soviets, then the Russian Bear.
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Biden’s visit is also about optics – and the message Washington hopes to convey, on the eve of the first anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, is that the US still supports Kyiv.
The support is more than symbolic, as America and European Union countries have increased arms shipments to Ukraine, as Russia is reportedly preparing another attack.
Ukraine has become a charnel house where neither side has won, but with the West accusing Moscow of war crimes and targeting civilians.
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It must have been clear to all that this bloody stalemate could not continue. Isn’t it time to talk?