In a column published by the Die Zeit weekly on the ongoing escalation around the Ukraine issue, old trans-Atlantic reptile Theo Sommer gives a preliminarily positive view of the Biden-Putin talks, noting, however, that war scenarios are still too prevalent, making diplomacy a very difficult task:
“In the history of American foreign policy, two different types appear again and again: the squeezers and the dealers. The squeezers tend to put their counterparts under pressure and squeeze them until the pips squeak; the dealers, on the other hand, prefer to rely on negotiating skills, patiently empathizing with the other person and his interests. Such squeezers and negotiators have existed throughout Russian history, even in its Soviet phase. It would be immensely reassuring if the cautious ones now had the upper hand on both sides—not only to prevent the war everyone is talking about, but to give peace in Europe contour and structure.”
