Mr President, please stop coddling Putin

In 2022, the US Senate unanimously passed a resolution condemning President Vladimir Putin of Russia as a war criminal.

- Nicholas D Kristof

Yet President Donald Trump this week appears poised to reward Mr Putin for his invasion of Ukraine and the slaughter and rape of Ukrainian civilians and the trafficking of Ukrainian children that followed.

We all get a bit dizzy watching Mr Trump's pirouettes on the war in Ukraine: Just recently, he was denouncing Russia for its “disgusting” attacks on Ukraine, declaring that “we're going to put sanctions” on Russia.

Then, as the deadline arrived, Mr Trump caved. Instead of imposing tough sanctions, he announced a summit meeting with Mr Putin and suggested that Ukraine would have to give up territory to reach a deal.

A summit with Mr Putin isn’t necessarily a bad idea, and Mr Trump's genuine involvement in ending the war would be welcome. It’s likewise fair for Mr Trump to press each side to compromise, and many Ukrainians seem ready to make concessions: More than two-thirds said in a Gallup poll that they favour a speedy negotiated end to the war, rather than fighting on until victory.

But the way the summit was coming together was raising alarms worldwide because it may be setting the stage not for an actual settlement but for craven capitulation.