Biden Should Negotiate Peace Agreement with Russia to Avert War Over Ukraine

Biden should accept Russia's offer to negotiate a comprehensive security agreement based on reciprocal concessions to avert a Russian invasion of Ukraine that could lead to World War III

This article was originally published in The National Interest on January 1, 2022.

Twenty-two years ago this week, Vladimir Putin became president of the Russian Federation. Shortly thereafter, he declared that the collapse of the Soviet Union was “the greatest geopolitical disaster of the twentieth century.” Since taking power, Putin, a former KGB lieutenant colonel and former FSB Director, has left little doubt that his ultimate goal is the reunification of the former Soviet republics with Russia—either in an economic union or full-scale political union. Putin appears determined to achieve this objective during his lifetime and has spent the past two decades preparing Russia to accomplish it. He has built up and modernized Russia’s nuclear arsenal, super-Electromagnetic Pulse (EMP) and cyberwarfare capabilities, modernized Russia’s national missile defense system, expanded Russia’s network of underground nuclear command centers, and further hardened Russia’s critical infrastructure against EMP attack.