Negotiating with Putin is only possible from a position of strength. Because he doesn’t understand any language in the world except the “language of strength.” I said this in an interview with POLITICO.
Today there is a global problem — Donald Trump doesn’t understand Putin. And this is not only a problem for Ukraine. He thinks Putin is negotiating and trying to get better conditions for peace. But this is not true. Putin has a completely different logic — he wants to restore the Soviet Union, to restore the Russian Empire. He dreams of his place in history, regardless of the human cost.
And it’s important to understand one more thing. Putin is not interested in capturing additional lands in eastern Ukraine that his troops couldn’t take, and that he is demanding be handed over in any “peaceful” agreement.
He uses this demand as a tool for destabilization. Any territorial concession would require a referendum. And a referendum in a warring country means societal division, internal conflict, political crisis. This is exactly what the Kremlin seeks — to destroy our unity from within. It’s a classic intelligence agency scenario. Remember: Putin is a KGB officer. He is an expert in such matters.
This is why Ukraine needs real, rather than declarative, security guarantees in the form of integration into NATO and the presence of allied troops on our territory — “boots on the ground,” including American ones.
But the issue of security and a future peace agreement is much broader. Europe must be at the negotiating table. European countries today bear an enormous financial burden in supporting Ukraine, and their role in forming long-term security guarantees is crucial.
Of course, the role of the USA remains decisive. But without Europe, no security construct will work. In this process, allies can play different but complementary roles — the proverbial “good cop” and “bad cop.” And the emergence of strong European leadership at the negotiating table can provide the necessary impetus for real progress towards peace.
