Jeffrey Sachs: Ukraine Peace Proposal vs. NATO Salami Tactics

I completely agree with Jeffrey Sachs about what Russia wants to settle the Ukraine war. What it wants is a peace conference to establish a security agreement for Europe and Russia based on the principle of the indivisibility of security. That is why Professor Mearsheimer is wrong about the way this war will end. Russia wants a permanent political outcome that will guarantee security in the future for all concerned. That is Russia’s political objective. Mearsheimer’s idea of an ugly peace with a rump Ukraine will not satisfy this political objective.

Sachs says that if European leaders could understand what the true political objectives of Russia are and negotiate on that basis, the war could end tomorrow. However, I think that more time and military action will be required to achieve Russia’s political objectives. The Kiev regime will have to be removed and replaced by a Russia-friendly administration. Russia will continue its announced policy of demilitarization and de-Nazification of Ukraine, including Western Ukraine. European leaders are looking likely to fall in the near future by the votes of their own people. At some point, we can hope sanity will prevail and Europe will understand that its future depends on good relations with Russia.