No. of Recommendations: 2
From Real Clear Defense:
The setup:
The meeting that took place the following Monday between President Trump, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, and European Union and NATO leaders was a powerful sign of unity among allies and partners. Statements about iron-clad security guarantees further demonstrated tight-knit cooperation and long-term commitment. Yet, the most significant outcome may have been the opportunity to firmly shift responsibility back to Russia to prove a willingness to negotiate and act in good faith. Since then, Putin has done just the opposite.
The last two weeks have seen Russia negotiating and acting in a particularly extreme version of bad faith. Putin’s government has made statements refusing a bilateral meeting with Zelenskyy and demanding a veto of any security guarantees or subsequent security assistance to Ukraine. Russia has increased strikes on civilian targets and even destroyed a U.S. civilian factory in western Ukraine. Every bad faith statement and action demonstrates disrespect to the President of the United States and likely proves that Putin blatantly lied to President Trump in Alaska. Meanwhile, the clock ticks on and the death toll rises.
And:
It’s worth a bit of detour to another clock with another timeline that was directed towards another adversary – those related to Iran’s nuclear program earlier this year. President Trump set an ambitious timeline – 60 days. While the timeline pressure, coupled with snapback sanctions that would destroy Iran’s economy, were enough to bring Iran to the negotiating table, their bad faith negotiating tactics scuttled success while demonstrating disrespect to the President of the United States. Without fanfare, the timeline ticked away. And on the 61st day, Iran suffered the consequences of their failure to meet Trump’s clearly defined deadline.
And the finish:
Yet, at the same time, he has implied something far more important – that we will all see what happens in the next week or two. After all, a clearly defined deadline remains and the clock is ticking away without fanfare. The earliest of those comments was given two weeks ago, and the 51st day from the original deadline arrives on September 3rd. The clock is running out for President Putin.
Timelines, pressure, and strength resonate with Putin. So do economic threats and looming costs. The imposition of sanctions and secondary sanctions on September 3rd would provide a powerful signal – to Putin and to others. Stall tactics, bad faith negotiating, and deception may work for a while, but not when the clock runs out.
9/3 is today. Time to see what "Phase two" and "Phase three" are.
