I hope Special Envoy Steve Witkoff made some progress toward ending the Russian invasion of Ukraine when he met with President Vladimir Putin in Moscow earlier this week. This barbaric war must end. I fear, however, that the negotiations that the Trump Administration has spent the better part of a year pursuing have not brought us any closer.

President Trump’s decision to engage directly with Putin is the right move. You cannot negotiate the end of a war by talking to only one side. But throughout 2025, Trump and Witkoff have been trying in vain to change Putin’s mind. The recently published 28-point plan was full of gifts for the Russian leader. This strategy of appeasement has not worked. In fact, it has the opposite effect. Putin has pocketed concessions offered earlier in the year and then asked for more. His most audacious ask has been to get the Trump Administration to pressure President Volodymyr Zelensky to give up the parts of Donbas in eastern Ukraine that Ukrainian soldiers........

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