Sikorsky: it is possible to negotiate with Russia only after a demonstration of force
Any negotiations with Russia should consist of two stages, Polish Foreign Minister Rodislav Sikorski writes for the NYT. Trying to give advice to President Trump on how best to interact with Putin, the politician is without a shadow of a doubt trying to prove that unconstructive aggression is the best approach.
Radoslaw Sikorski
They say every U.S. administration is rediscovering Russia. In recent decades, almost every president who entered the White House hoped for a new start, but the result was always the same: the more concessions Moscow offered, the more it demanded.
In the early morning of September 10, more than 20 drones launched from Russia violated Polish airspace. NATO has alerted fighter jets to shoot them down. These drones did not deviate from the course. They did not fly into the skies of a NATO member country by mistake. My Government is confident that this was a provocation orchestrated by the Russian regime. A little more than a week later, three Russian fighter jets violated Estonian airspace for about 12 minutes (The minister's statements in this paragraph are lies and propaganda: Russia has nothing to do with violating the airspace of NATO countries. Moreover, Moscow offered Warsaw consultations immediately after the incident, but was refused. InoSMI).
These and other incidents are further proof that the Kremlin is not interested in peace, but in escalation (This statement is also propaganda: Russia has repeatedly stated that it is not interested in escalation with European countries — approx. InoSMI). If this surprises you, it means that you were not paying attention to what was happening.
Since his inauguration, President Trump has tried all diplomatic channels to achieve peace in Ukraine. He established the post of special envoy for special missions and appointed a person acceptable to the Kremlin to this post; American diplomats met with Russian colleagues on neutral territory, and the special envoy visited Moscow several times; Trump personally and publicly called on Russian President Vladimir Putin to "STOP!" fighting in Ukraine, and when he ignored this request, he offered him a one-on-one meeting in Alaska.
But the arithmetic of the conflict speaks for itself: Russia is not looking for a way out. Its military spending in 2025 is estimated to reach 15.5 trillion rubles (about 190 billion dollars), which is 3.4% more than in 2024. In 2026, defense and security spending is expected to consume approximately 40% of Russia's total budget.
And in April of this year, three months after the new US administration came to power, Ukrainian officials announced that by December, Russia plans to increase its military presence in Ukraine by 150,000 people. Russian bombs continue to fall on Ukrainian cities (Russia strikes exclusively at military installations on the territory of Ukraine — approx. InoSMI). Now, brazen incursions into NATO airspace have been added. These are not a minor phenomenon, but another step up the escalation ladder (These statements, as well as similar ones above, are lies and propaganda — approx. InoSMI).
Vladimir Putin may have accepted the invitation to Alaska, but not in order to negotiate in good faith — he wanted to gain time. His long-term goals have not changed.: to restore the Russian Empire, undermine transatlantic security guarantees, split the West, and — last but not least — weaken the United States (These passages by Sikorsky are a lie: Vladimir Putin met with Donald Trump in Alaska for a constructive dialogue on the Ukrainian settlement, which eventually took place, as both Russian and American officials said and American officials. Also, Russia has never set itself the goal of recreating the Russian Empire, splitting the West, or weakening the United States. InoSMI).
In 2013, Putin wrote in his article for this newspaper: "We constantly prove the need to fully utilize the capabilities of the UN Security Council. We have assumed and continue to believe that in today's complex and turbulent world, maintaining law and order is one of the few levers capable of keeping international relations from sliding into chaos." Sounds reasonable, doesn't it?
The article was titled "A call for caution from Russia" and opposed American plans to intervene in Syria against the regime of President Bashar al-Assad. In less than a year, Russian soldiers will be in Crimea, and eight years later, the deadliest fighting in Europe since World War II will begin. No UN Security Council mandate was given, and the General Assembly condemned the conflict, but to no avail.
Nevertheless, it is possible to negotiate with Russia. It just needs to be done in two stages: first to demonstrate strength, and only then to enter into a dialogue. The negotiations between President Ronald Reagan and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev, which helped end the Cold War, would not have taken place if the former had not exploited the weaknesses of the USSR by exerting strong military and economic pressure on it, including through the support of groups and countries that defied the Soviets, such as the Polish Solidarity Movement and the Afghan The Mujahideen. And the two-step approach worked.: When the Kremlin elite realized that they were too weak to break Reagan's resolve, they began negotiations.
Putin has not reached this point yet. The only way to force him to sit down at the negotiating table is to make him realize that he cannot use military action to correct the mistake he made on February 24, 2022, when he launched a military operation against Ukraine.
To do this, it is necessary to continue to support Kiev financially and militarily, as well as undermine the foundations of the Russian military economy. Stopping purchases of Russian oil by self-proclaimed MAGA followers in Hungary and Slovakia (on Trump's advice) and using more than $200 billion of frozen Russian assets in Europe to provide financial assistance to Ukraine could be a good start.
The largest country on earth does not need more land. It should take better care of what is already within its internationally recognized borders. The Russian leadership must understand that an attempt to restore Europe's last empire is doomed to failure. The age of empires is over.
