US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin (©Getty via Kyodo)
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United States President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin are scheduled to meet in Alaska on August 15. This will be the first face-to-face meeting between the US and Russian leaders since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022.
The summit offers a crucial opportunity to impose tougher sanctions and thereby force Putin to accept a ceasefire.
However, there are causes for concern about Trump's diplomatic approach. In the past he has rebuked Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who should be considered an ally, saying, "You have no cards." He has also made some unreasonable decisions, such as temporarily suspending the provision of military assistance to Kyiv.
No Territorial Swaps Over Ukraine's Head
Trump has mentioned the possibility of prolonged negotiations with Russia. We would like to see such negotiations proceed in coordination with Ukraine and the major European countries.
First, however, the US should press for a ceasefire by imposing tougher sanctions. Those might include "secondary tariffs" on countries like China and India that support the invasion by importing Russian oil.
Trump has said that his peace plan includes "the return of some territory and the swapping of some territory." Concessions such as the withdrawal of Russian troops from certain Ukrainian territories in exchange for the transfer of the Crimean Peninsula and occupied territories in the east to Russia must not be made over Ukraine's head. To do so would only open the door for Russia to invade the three Baltic states of Lithuania, Estonia, and Latvia.
Refuse to Reward the Aggressor
Ignoring the fact that Russia is the aggressor, Putin has demanded the "elimination of the root causes of the conflict." That, he says, is a precondition for a ceasefire. In that, Putin would also deny Ukraine's right to become a member of NATO or strengthen its military.
The Russian president is also demanding that Ukraine recognize Russia's annexation of the Crimean Peninsula and cede four eastern and southern Ukrainian provinces to Russia.
These are unreasonable demands tantamount to requiring Ukraine to abjectly surrender. The world should not be fooled by Putin's bluff. Russia has been economically exhausted by years of war.
Drawing a ceasefire line is one thing. But as far as the fundamental issue of national sovereignty in the form of territory is concerned, Ukraine will certainly not agree to any deal that would benefit the aggressor by ceding Ukrainian soil. Such a bargain would only encourage other authoritarian countries, including China, to commit acts of aggression.
Avoid Triggering a Greater War
Trump says that he is trying to prevent World War III.
World War II officially started when Germany and the Soviet Union jointly invaded Poland in the fall of 1939. But the stage for the conflict had been set in 1938. That was when Great Britain and France agreed that part of Czechoslovakia could be ceded to Germany at the Munich Conference.
We should approach the August 15 summit mindful of the lesson from history that appeasement of an invader can trigger a new war.
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Author: Editorial Board, The Sankei Shimbun
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