Under the headline “I’m the Foreign Minister of Poland. This is how to negotiate with Putin,” Sikorski offers a rare insider’s view of foreign policy - and how to bring the Kremlin’s leadership to the negotiating table to end the war in Ukraine.
Sikorski writes that the only way to bring Putin to peace talks is to make him realise that the full-scale invasion of Ukraine on 24 February 2022 was a mistake.
To achieve this, he argues, Ukraine must continue to receive financial and military support, while the foundations of Russia’s war economy must be undermined.
The Polish foreign minister suggests that a positive step would be for self-styled MAGA supporters in Hungary and Slovakia to follow President Donald Trump’s advice and halt purchases of Russian oil.
The head of Polish diplomacy adds that more than $200 billion in frozen Russian assets in Europe should be used to assist victims of Putin’s aggression.
Sikorski also notes that, as the world’s largest country, Russia does not need more territory.
“Its leaders must understand that their attempt to restore the last empire in Europe is doomed to fail. The era of empires is over,” he writes, urging readers to read the full essay for his complete analysis.
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Source: The New York Times/X/@sikorskiradek/@PLinEstonia