Christopher Steele, the former head of the Russia desk for Britain’s MI6, is not happy about U.S. President Donald Trump’s negotiations with President Vladimir Putin. But his contributions to Al-Arabiya’s “Counter Points” show, “Fiery debate on Ukraine: Negotiate Peace or Hold Firm?”, mark him as the man who is all used up. The show posed the question, “Should Ukraine negotiate peace now or continue to resist?” Steele’s dull theme was: “Everything I know about Putin” is that one “can’t trust him,” so there can’t be a peace. He is “an indicted war criminal.”
Otherwise, Steele warned against the danger of conceding to Russia. Putin has “offered no concessions,” except for allowing “a possible security guarantee if Ukraine rolls over.” But “Ukraine needs to be free to make its own choices,” in particular, to join NATO. Maybe Putin is offering to put into writing that he won’t invade Ukraine, but agreements mean nothing to him. “Putin is trying to rebuild the old Soviet Union, and I don’t think he’s going to stop with Ukraine.”
