The thing is, for me, as a fiction writer, I don't think there's a finer testament to our lives than this thing that's being spurned - the emotional intelligence, the ethics, the beauty. It's all there. It's all so fully contained in a novel that succeeds. But at the same time, I understand the impulse to put away childish things.
As far as I know, the line of communication between the U. S. and Russia continues to be open and the battlefield commanders are able to communicate with one another. I am aware that there have been certain public statements made out of Moscow.