And I'll keep saying it. You don't get what you want from dictators like Putin by giving them what they want. That only shows them you aren't strong enough to stand up to their aggression.
https://twitter.com/FiringLineShow/status/1397198712930197530
The US doesn't need anything from Putin. This summit is a huge gift to him, conferring credibility that no dictator earns by elections. Normalizing relations with a dictatorship only normalizes dictatorship.
Who is running the show in the Biden State Department? Blinken talking tough, Biden offering summits impromptu to "a killer", Sullivan talking normalization with Patrushev, caving on Nord Stream 2. Now the RyanAir hijacking, obv coordinated with Russia, and what?
The only value of a face to face meeting is for Putin to show he's still the big boss, still welcome as an equal with the world's top democratic leaders. What does the US or Biden get out of it when they know from experience it will only make Putin's behavior worse?
The US may punish Lukashenko and Belarus for the RyanAir hijacking and kidnapping, but looks set to reward Lukashenko's puppet-master Putin with "Reset 2" to go with Nord Stream 2. Biden would squander his chance to reestablish the US as a global leader for democracy.
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