Editorial written by The Dallas Morning News Editorial Board.
Even as Russian bombs continued to rain on Ukrainian civilians, the Russian strongman who has thrown Europe into war and chaos enjoyed the red carpet treatment from an American president.
Defenders of President Donald Trump’s ersatz diplomacy will suggest, again, that this was all part of a game of four-dimensional chess that will lead to an otherwise unachievable peace.
We see nothing to indicate sophistication in what has taken place. Instead we see reactionary movements with too little consideration of their consequences.
That Trump invited Vladimir Putin to a high-level summit, lifting his pariah status and permitting him to glow in an embrace, was bad enough.
The only concession we saw was a supposed offer from Putin to accept Western troops in Ukraine. Even that had evaporated by Tuesday.
Putin, of course, is a liar practiced in manipulation and deception when force won’t do. There is no reason to believe any offer he makes is sincere.
Europe’s leaders, meanwhile, were forced to scramble to Washington in a last-minute gathering because they were rightly terrified that Trump might well cede too much to Putin’s influence.
They were wise to believe that. Trump was repeating Putin taking points even as he sat down with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Chief among those was a denial of the need for a ceasefire agreement.
That, Trump said, could offer a strategic advantage for one side or the other. Putin couldn’t have said it better himself. At Trump’s direction, Zelenskyy may soon find himself face to face with Putin, a man who has directed the invasion of Ukraine, complete with the kidnapping, rape, torture and murder of its citizens. And even as they are speaking, Putin’s drones may very well be targeting Ukrainian apartments.
For those who believe this is all a highly sophisticated diplomatic strategy, we ask: What happened to American moral clarity? What happened to our acknowledgment of right and wrong in this world and our willingness to be the advocate of what is just? What happened to our devotion to defending the weak over the strong?
Europe’s leaders deserve great credit for rushing to the White House to offer a unified voice in defense of Ukraine. They know all too well what is at stake. And they understand the potent influence Putin appears to hold over our president.
Their willingness to put their own pride aside in the name of the greater good is admirable.
We have little hope for a good outcome from the proposed summit. Putin is a master of the long game. If he can carve off a strategic part of Ukraine now, perhaps in time he can get the rest.
