Last month the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a series of proposals for mediating the international confrontation over Ukraine. Controversially, the Russian plan includes the creation of a negotiating group that would exclude the government in Kiev. Russia also wants Ukraine to adopt a federal model of government with vast regional autonomy, as well as to commit to never joining NATO. Longtime Nation contributor Stephen Cohen joins Pacifica Radio’s Beneath The Surface with Suzi Weissman to discuss Russia’s “diplomatic overture,” which Western diplomats and media have largely disregarded. “I think the Russians are right about this,” says Cohen. “You need to have a constitution and a state that reflects the reality of the two Ukraines.”

—David Kortava