US military officials call on NATO not to make concessions to Putin, but to offer him a "path to retreat"

 

 Former Pentagon officials have called on the United States and its NATO allies to offer Vladimir Putin a "retreat route" in the border situation with Ukraine during the Geneva crisis talks, writes The Times.

Representatives of the United States and Russia are expected to meet in Geneva on January 9th and 10th, hoping to resolve the situation before escalating into a full-scale military conflict. This will be followed by a meeting of the Russia-NATO Council on 12 January and a meeting of representatives of Russia and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) on 13 January.

 According to the newspaper, Russia has deployed about 100,000 troops near the Ukrainian border to force NATO to agree to security guarantees offered by the Kremlin. At the same time, during video talks in December, US President Joe Biden made it clear to Putin that the United States could impose anti-Russian sanctions and increase its military presence in Europe if Russia "takes further action." steps "to Ukraine.

 According to experts, any serious concession by NATO can be seen in Moscow as a "sign of weakness" of the Alliance, which can be used in the future. In this regard, Biden and his colleagues must "find a formula that sounds like a discount without offering anything real in substance."

 In particular, the proposal to withdraw troops from Poland or the Baltic states or the refusal to recognize Ukraine's right to join NATO is a very significant concession. However, with the approval of the entire North Atlantic Alliance, Biden could offer Putin an extension of talks to expand the alliance in exchange for a reduction in Russian troops on the border with Ukraine, or even small joint exercises as a "demonstration of goodwill."

 According to security expert with three US defense ministers Andrew Krepinevich, NATO should not make big concessions to Russia, as this would increase Moscow's "geostrategic positional advantage". However, he also considers sending troops to help Ukraine a bad idea.

"In Biden's place, I would tell Putin that if he attacks Ukraine, NATO will do much without sending troops to help Kiev, for example, provide intelligence equipment, possibly engage in cyber activities and also introduce strict economic measures. But also to find an opportunity to offer Putin a way out without losing his dignity, "Krepinevich said.

 According to the Deputy Secretary of Defense for Political Affairs, the administration of former President George W. Bush, Eric Edelman, Russia's allegations are based on the false premise that "NATO is somehow threatening" the country.

According to The Times, Edelman believes that in this way the Russian leader is trying to "justify his aggressive policy to the increasingly worried Russian public, which is tired of the economic stagnation and corruption of Putin's kleptocratic regime."