By Xhabir Deralla
On June 12, 2025 – Russia’s so-called “National Day” – the United States, once seen as the global standard-bearer of democracy, issued a grotesquely polite congratulatory statement to the “Russian people”. Not from a ceremonial figure, but from Secretary of State Marco Rubio, America’s top diplomat and official voice on foreign policy.
This, astonishingly, came just 48 hours before the United States observes Flag Day – a patriotic celebration of a nation founded on liberty and resistance to tyranny. And only a couple of days after one of the heaviest missile and drone attacks yet on Kyiv.
“Russia Day” commemorates the 1990 declaration of sovereignty of the Russian Federation, a moment that should have marked the end of a century-long Soviet dictatorship and its brutal hegemony. But today’s Russia is no “newborn democracy.” It is an aggressive, authoritarian regime waging a genocidal war against its neighbor, while conducting hybrid warfare against the democratic West, including the United States. This comes after a long record of military interventions, imperialist aggression, and the construction of a cruel dictatorship at home. And yet, as Ukrainian civilians are killed in missile strikes, Washington extends a hand of hollow diplomacy, draped in blood-stained velvet.
“The United States remains committed to supporting the Russian people as they continue to build on their aspirations for a brighter future. We also take this opportunity to reaffirm the United States’ desire for constructive engagement with the Russian Federation to bring about a durable peace between Russia and Ukraine.”
– Marco Rubio, U.S. Secretary of State, June 12, 2025 (link)
If irony could kill, this statement would be a weapon of mass destruction.
Rubio’s words, cloaked in the language of peace and “constructive engagement,” are not just tone-deaf – they are a betrayal. A betrayal of Ukraine. A betrayal of American values. A betrayal of truth itself.
“Durable peace,” the statement says. But there is no peace without justice. And justice cannot coexist with appeasement or with this outrageous alignment with a war criminal, at the expense of true allies.
The notion of congratulating a people under authoritarian rule while their regime commits genocide next door is not only absurd, it’s obscene! If this is the United States’ new vision of diplomacy, it marks the lowest moral point in its 250-year history.
This statement is a symptom of a dangerous trend: the normalization of tyranny. It reflects a growing willingness to flatter dictatorships under the guise of “realism” – the same brand of realism that looks away from brutal aggression and whispers pleasantries to Moscow while Ukraine bleeds.
This isn’t statesmanship. Call it what it is: surrender.
In 1941, the United States stood up to fascism. In 1963, it declared itself a citizen of Berlin. In 1987, it demanded that Gorbachev tear down the wall. And in 2025, it congratulates the heir of Stalin. History will remember this moment. The question is—how will Americans explain it to themselves? What will Ukrainians remember? What will Europe remember?
Because no matter how carefully worded, a statement like this does not stand neutral. In times of war, silence is complicity—and polite applause is collaboration. Surrender.
The views expressed in this article are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the positions of the media outlet or its partners. This is an opinion piece.
