Eight former U.S. ambassadors warn: whoever rewards Putin is preparing the next war

Lasting peace cannot be bought from Putin through territorial concessions and the easing of sanctions, warn eight former U.S. ambassadors, including four former heads of mission in Bucharest. According to them, rewarding aggression would weaken NATO and increase the risk of a broader European war.

The authors of the joint piece published in Israel Hayom, reported on by G4Media, know the region well: Adrian Zuckerman, Mark Gitenstein, Kathleen Kavalec and Jim Rosapepe represented the United States in Romania, Ron Gidwitz in Belgium, Jim Gilmore at the OSCE, Bridget Brink in Slovakia and Ukraine, and John Sullivan served as ambassador to Russia.

Their warning centers on the Trump administration's policy: if Washington forces Kyiv to cede territory while offering concessions to Moscow, it will make continuing the war worthwhile for Putin. A forced agreement might temporarily silence the guns, but it could also pave the way for the next attack—one that would threaten NATO member states and could require direct U.S. military intervention. The ambassadors recall the lesson of the 1930s: concessions to an aggressor can encourage further conquest. They do not equate the Nazi regime with Putin's in every respect, but they reject turning the fate of civilian victims and abducted children into bargaining chips in diplomatic deals, and insist that any easing of sanctions be tied to real, measurable steps toward peace—because anyone who expects their own security from a deal struck at Ukraine's expense should also consider what lesson Putin will draw from it: that he had to stop, or that it was worth attacking.

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