MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:
For more on this, we're going to go to historian and analyst Sergey Radchenko of Johns Hopkins University. He's an authority on Russia. We reached him at a security conference in Berlin. Good morning. Thanks for joining us.
SERGEY RADCHENKO: Morning.
MARTIN: So taking advantage of the fact that you're in Europe, what are you hearing from European security experts about what seems to be - the U.S. posture toward these negotiations seems very weighted or at least sympathetic toward Russia's demands and less interested in Ukraine's desire for a security guarantee. How's that going over there?
RADCHENKO: Well, sure, the Europeans are frustrated with American posture. They have been calling for a stronger approach to Russia. But when we say the Europeans, we have to be clear that Europe is not speaking with a united voice. We have the French. We have the Germans. We have the British, who are also pushing for a more, you know, collective European approach. But then we have dissenting voices. We have the Hungarians, who are very much on the same page as the Trump administration. So there's - as always with Europe, you know, there's a variety of views. But generally, I would say the European attitude is that the Americans are making too many concessions to the Russians without getting anything in return.
MARTIN: Is there anything in particular that is sort of standing out to you there? I mean, I'm thinking, as part of the deal, Russia wants to keep all the territory it seized from Ukraine since 2014. How is that being received?
RADCHENKO: Well, that is not being received very positively, obviously, in Europe because there's a fear of a precedent. And they're especially worried about this idea that the Trump administration has aired about the U.S. recognizing Russian annexation of Crimea. They fear that this will set a precedent for the future that aggression can be rewarded in this sort of way. And that is the essence of the current dialogue between the Europeans, on the one hand, and the Americans on the other. Of course, the Ukrainians also do not want to yield to these kind of demands on the part of the Russians.
MARTIN: And what about - you were just, you know, pointing out that Europe doesn't speak with one voice on this. What about countries like Hungary, for example, that tend to be, you know, more skeptical toward Ukraine and are more sympathetic to the Russian position? Are they equally worried about that?
RADCHENKO: Well, the Hungarian - and you've got a few voices in Europe who are basically having their own approach to Russia. They sometimes can be brought along in collective action within the context of the European Union. I would say the more important voices are those of France and Germany, as always. The British have been trying to play a role as well. They have been proposing, together with the French, to send contingents to Ukraine, but only after peace has been established. So this position, by the way, strikes me as somewhat unrealistic because peace is certainly not at hand. And also, the Russians have made it clear that they will not accept European contingents, certainly not ones by NATO member states.
So I'm not really sure that the Europeans, at this point, as a whole, have a clear and defined position on how to handle this. And that makes it even more problematic for them when the Trump administration goes in and offers a range of concessions to the Russians and basically tells the Europeans, well, you know, come along with us, or if you don't, then we'll leave this problem to you. You'll have to sort it out.
MARTIN: You know, one interesting thing - as part of the U.S. proposal for peace, now Secretary of State Marco Rubio seems to be advocating for something that he opposed when he was in the U.S. Senate, which is recognizing - Washington recognizing Russia's annexation of Crimea. And I just - I wondered if that pivot has been noted.
RADCHENKO: Well, of course it has been. The Europeans are talking about nothing else at the moment. The question is, do you reward aggression by recognizing Russian annexation of Crimea? You might say, well, this is just recognizing reality because there's no viable way for Ukraine to regain Crimea. But the detractors say that in 1940, for example, the United States refused to recognize the Soviet annexation of the Baltic states, and that allowed the Baltic states to regain their independence or helped them regain their independence at the end of the Cold War.
So what does the United States have to gain here by basically giving Crimea to Putin on a silver platter? That is not so clear. But from the Trump administration perspective, they see that as a major carrot, as a major incentive for the Russians to cooperate. I would say at the moment, the Europeans and the Americans do not see eye to eye on this question of Crimean recognition.
MARTIN: What about President Trump's comments that he was, quote-unquote, "not happy" about Russia's latest attacks on Ukraine and saying, Vladimir, stop? I was wondering what the reaction was to that.
RADCHENKO: Well, I think this makes Trump appear weak, you know, obviously to the Europeans, but also to the Russians. You don't end this war by calling on Putin to stop. You force Putin to negotiate. You come from - you know, to the table from a position of strength. And I don't think that making these kind of desperate proclamations via social media actually helps anything. It creates doubts about Trump's ability to actually get anything out of Putin.
MARTIN: That's historian and analyst Sergey Radchenko of Johns Hopkins University. We reached him in Berlin. Mr. Radchenko, thank you so much for speaking to us once again.
RADCHENKO: No problem. Thanks for having me. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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