Don't Trade Away Ukraine

While the fight against ISIL is of paramount importance, Russia remains the West’s number one threat, as the Pentagon’s chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Joseph Dunford, testified earlier this year. After all, Russia, unlike ISIL, possesses enormous offensive military capabilities, both nuclear and conventional. At the same time, Putin has proven beyond any doubt that he, like ISIL, is prepared to destabilize the world order regardless of casualties, or political and economic consequences to reach his strategic goals. Co-ordinating the West’s military actions in Syria with Russia is important, but not at any price. Ukraine remains the only real force standing between the Russian aggressors and the security and stability of Europe. Western leaders need to find wisdom and strength to adopt a far-sighted strategy for the free world’s security and stability. This, among other things, means not treating Ukraine as a bargaining chip for Putin’s short-term co-operation in the Middle East.