Two very different views on how the war in Ukraine should end

I have been reading today two very different views on what sort of negotiated end to the war in Ukraine might be acceptable.

There is a piece by Ian Linden on "The Article" website,

The case for a negotiated peace in Ukraine | TheArticle

which a sympathetic reviewer might describe as a plea for peace even if Ukraine has to compromise, and a less sympathetic reviewer such as myself, might describe as well-intentioned but hopelessly  naive.

All too often in the face of a dangerous threat, be it Putin or Hitler, a wholly understandable wish for peace can lead to weakness masquerading as pragmatism in the form of arguments against which standing up to an existential threat and making it more dangerous.

Linden repeats the line that Western leaders had given assurances to Russia that NATO would not expand East and then broken them: it's difficult to see what this is meant to show since as he himself admits,

"NATO’s expansion does not justify Putin’s criminal invasions of Ukraine nor his war crimes, nor his tyrannical rule."

So why bring it into the conversation, especially as Linden also says that NATO expansion does provide Putin "with a public rationale for attacks on his southern, sovereign neighbour."

He argues that we should learn from the mistake. I would argue that if there was a mistake, it was giving that assurance in the first place.

A welcome antidote to the faux-pragmatism of those who argue against a tough line of resistance to Putin's aggression is provided by a Chatham House paper which addresses some of the dangerous thinking of the faux-pragmatists

There are specific chapters addressing nine of the most dangerous fallacies:

• Fallacy 1: ‘Settle now: all wars end at the negotiating table’
• Fallacy 2: ‘Ukraine should concede territory in exchange for peace’
• Fallacy 3: ‘Ukraine should adopt neutrality’
• Fallacy 4: ‘Russian security concerns must be respected’
• Fallacy 5: ‘Russian defeat is more dangerous than Russian victory’
• Fallacy 6: ‘Russia’s defeat in Ukraine will lead to greater instability in Russia’
• Fallacy 7: ‘This is costing too much, and the West needs to restore economic ties with Russia’
• Fallacy 8: ‘Ukraine’s pursuit of justice hinders peace’
• Fallacy 9: ‘This war is not our fight, and there are more important global problems’

You can access the whole paper by clicking on the link below:

How to end Russia’s war on Ukraine | Chatham House – International Affairs Think Tank