If the US Won’t Stand Up to Putin, Europe Must
Russia’s president has shown no sign that he’s serious about negotiating peace in Ukraine. European countries can and should turn up the heat.
Putin’s peace offering.
Photographer: Roman Pilipey/AFP/Getty Images
US officials have signaled they are losing patience with the pace of peacemaking in Ukraine. Part of the problem is that they seem unusually reluctant to pressure Russian President Vladimir Putin into any substantive concessions. If they won’t, European countries should.
To recap: The White House has thus far signaled comfort with nearly all Putin’s demands, from legitimizing Russia’s illegal annexations to blocking Ukraine’s path to NATO membership. Military aid authorized under the previous administration was temporarily frozen and no new weapons have been pledged. Meanwhile, the US still refuses to provide a security guarantee for European allies offering to police a ceasefire.