President Donald Trump’s planned meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin has the Ukrainian government on high alert. It’s not just the fact that Trump will be speaking with Putin one-on-one, but that it comes amidst a reported offer from Putin to agree to a ceasefire and freeze the battlefield – provided Ukraine turns over Donbas.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who is strongly against such a proposal, has flooded European leaders with calls to ensure they oppose such a deal. And he has been successful: Leaders around the continent have released multiple statements. All of these statements began with some verbiage about supporting President Trump’s efforts, but the rest was clearly opposed to the idea that any deal could be struck with Russia. All contained two key demands and almost verbatim language: “No decisions on Ukraine without Ukraine, and no decisions on Europe without Europe,” and “We reaffirm the principle that international borders must not be changed by force.”
Both of these slogans – what else can one call them? – may have made sense at the beginning of the conflict. But now they are downright anachronistic.
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