George Rebane
As President Trump meets with Ukraine’s Zelinsky and select NATO leaders at the White House to discuss a strategic response to Putin’s peace treaty demands, it is good to review what the Russian thug has in mind as supported by overwhelming evidence (see below) of his behavior on the world scene. The main points to keep in mind are that (1) Russia’s economy is on its ass, and (2) Putin’s physical wellbeing depends on his success in prosecuting his many declarations of reclaiming Russia’s destiny as the dominant European cum world power.
Preceded by Lenin, Stalin, et al, the Russians of the former USSR and now Putin have yet to existentially keep any promises they have made since the 1917 Bolshevik revolution. Russia’s current activities along their eastern border with NATO countries are ongoing testimony to Putin’s plans for future conquests – e.g. cross border transgressions, vandalizing European communication and energy pipelines, massing of troops on the borders of Finland, Estonia, Latvia, and, of course, the ongoing conquest of Ukraine.
Putin has put himself into a no-win situation with his military’s high command and Russia’s corps of corrupt oligarchs. He can no longer retreat to a normalized stance in which he renounces foreign adventures and convinces everyone that he will now play nice and work to re-establish Russia as well-behaved trading nation participating in international commerce. A fundamental, but seldom mentioned, cultural trait of Slavic Russians is that they have never believed in win-win relationships. Their fundamental worldview is that of a zero sum game. There are now too many divergent interests to satisfy, all of whom see Putin as a one-tune band to bring riches through conquest and military power or we’ll invite you to enjoy a wonderful view of Moscow from a nearby window.
The wiser heads in our corner will see Putin for what he has amply demonstrated to be. And any upcoming agreements with him will have to be backed by short-fuse and terminal economic sanctions along with the positioning of ample tripwire NATO forces in the Ukraine matching those now in Finland, Estonia, Latvia, and Poland. The bottom line is that Putin has been and continues to be a lying sumbich. I document the compiled history of his broken promises in Download PutinsBrokenPromises which concludes with –
Putin’s history of broken promises in international agreements is extensive, spanning the Budapest Memorandum (1994), Minsk Agreements (2014–2015), arms control treaties (INF, Open Skies, New START), and numerous ceasefires. Violations began early in his tenure (e.g., Istanbul Document, 1999) and escalated with aggressive actions in Georgia (2008) and Ukraine (2014, 2022). Partial compliance, such as in prisoner exchanges or the Black Sea Grain Initiative, was short-lived and driven by self-interest. Russia’s actions reflect a strategy of using agreements as tools for delay or leverage, eroding trust in its commitments. Any future agreements would require robust enforcement to counter this track record.
rebanesruminations.com 
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