I don't even the US policymakers having to formulate a response to Putin's remarks. He has said there will be no concessions. He has said he doesn't care about sanctions. He has framed himself as a threat to both Ukraine and all the former Russian Empire.
What is the point of negotiations with someone who clearly is entering them cynically and in bad faith? If the only point is to avoid an invasion--and that's clearly the main point and a worthy one--where do you go if there are to be no concessions on the other side?
If he has asserted rights over the future of Ukraine that he does not have, should the sanctions come now? Failing to levy them enables him to claim one of the prizes invasion might have brought at no cost.
His position must be condemned. The UN must meet & reject his right to assert this view (even knowing a Russian veto is inevitable in the UNSC.) The EU must reject it. NATO must reject it. And it must be said that Russia will remain a pariah state until it disavows this view.
NATO defenses in the rest of Eastern Europe should be strengthened further still in the wake of his implicit threat to all the former states that were once Russia or that contain substantial Russian populations or to which Russia has ever laid claim.
More aid must flow to Ukraine--financial and lethal. Committed support to the elected government must be backed up with action.
In short, it is not easy...but it is the core challenge the US and the West face in the wake of Putin's incendiary challenge.
In short, it is not easy...but it is the core challenge the US and the West face in the wake of Putin's incendiary challenge.
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