Albuquerque, NM -- On January 15, at 9 am MST, the Los Alamos Study Group will host a live-streamed, virtual discussion with Scott Ritter and Dr. Dmitri Trenin on the subject of how lasting peace might be achieved in Ukraine. 

Scott Ritter is a former U.S. military intelligence officer, UN weapons inspector, arms control historian and expert, military analyst, and a prolific author, speaker, and peace activist.

Dr. Dmitri Trenin is a member of the Foreign and Defense Policy Council of Russia, a Research Professor at the Higher School of Economics, and a Research Fellow at the Institute of World Economy and International Relations in Moscow, among other positions and accolades. He was the Director of the Carnegie Moscow Center from 2008 to 2022.

Greg Mello of this organization will moderate and take questions from the live audience at the SALA Event Center in Los Alamos, New Mexico, at 2551 Central Ave (map). Those viewing from afar will be able to watch the program here but will not be able to ask questions. There will be no admission charge for the live audience.

The Study Group plans to host additional meetings in Los Alamos on the general topic of U.S.-Russian relations over the course of the winter and spring, along with related activities.

The Study Group and its members have been outspoken on the need for peace in Ukraine since early 2022 (e.g. "A Proposed Solution to the Ukraine War," Consortium News, Greg Mello, Mar 7, 2022) -- really since 2014 (e.g. "The Ukraine Conflict: What's Behind It? Why Is It Important?," Sep 26, 2015).

Reception has been mixed (e.g. "Anti-nuclear activist opposes helping Ukraine, encourages peace," Santa Fe New Mexican, Feb 5, 2023).

The Study Group maintains a more-or-less-daily updated web page of Ukraine war news, analysis, sometimes with informal comments added. Some of our own appearances and products are in the right-hand column on that page; useful sources of information and analysis are listed on the left. As always, caveat emptor.

Study Group director Greg Mello:

"Since the U.S.-sponsored Ukraine coup d'etat in 2014, war hysteria and rampant Russophobia have badly damaged this country's foreign and domestic policies. Ignorance and widespread propaganda have gone hand in hand with these, each feeding on the others. Mainstream media coverage has been generally unreliable and appallingly unbalanced.

"As a result of this conflict -- which has involved the destruction of targets deep in Russia by weapon systems targeted and operated by U.S. military personnel -- the danger of nuclear conflict is far from small.

"Prospects for nuclear arms control are meanwhile negligible. A nuclear arms race is now underway, with all its attendant costs and dangers.

"Congress and the Executive Branch have lost their way. The so-called 'expert' foreign policy community outside government, in academia and in think tanks, steeped as they are in conflicts of interest, is no better and is often worse.

"In this environment it is necessary for citizens to educate themselves and speak up, if peace is to be achieved and its benefits realized, in our lives and the lives of our children."