The London Financial Times editorial board issued its marching orders to President-elect Donald Trump, telling him in a Jan. 5 editorial “How to secure an acceptable deal for Ukraine.” In short, the order is: don’t push Ukraine into a “bad truce” with Russia.
“The biggest risk is that Ukraine is pushed into a truce that is bad for the country, for European security, and ultimately for the U.S. and other allies too,” FT argues. “The fear in Europe is that Trump might prioritise a rapid agreement as an early trophy of his presidency. He has mooted forcing Kyiv into talks by threatening to cut off U.S. aid. Without pressure on Moscow too, however, this would almost certainly amount to bowing to Russia’s demands, including neutrality and demilitarisation for Ukraine.”
A “bad truce” wouldn’t just be bad for Ukraine, either. “[T]hough Trump might see extricating the U.S. from Ukraine as freeing it to focus instead on China, any appearance that Washington had forsaken an ally would embolden not just Beijing but the likes of North Korea and Iran.
