How to End the War in Ukraine? Sit Down and Talk. It’s Time.

It might be time to give diplomacy a chance in the Ukraine war.

“When there’s an opportunity to negotiate, when peace can be achieved, seize the moment.” The author of that statement wasn’t a peace activist or a squishy liberal. It was Gen. Mark A. Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, who has reportedly been pushing the Biden administration to press Ukraine to seek a diplomatic end to the war.

According to news reports, Milley’s view faces opposition in the White House. When Russian troops recently retreated from Kherson, national security adviser Jake Sullivan called it a “big moment” for Ukraine and reiterated that the administration would not push for a diplomatic end to the war. “If Ukraine chose to stop fighting and give up, it would be the end of Ukraine,” he said, bizarrely equating diplomacy with surrender.

But in fact, exercising diplomacy is just common sense — and there are signs that the White House might be slowly coming around to the possibility.

Russia has in effect already lost the war. President Vladimir Putin’s dreams of annexing Ukraine are shattered. His military weakness has been exposed, his economy damaged, his country isolated, his support weakened. His troops have suffered horrendous casualties; their morale is broken, their ammunition short.

Read the full piece in The Washington Post.