Putins Trick: Fallen Sie nicht darauf herein.

“Whether or not Putin meets Donald Trump and Vladimir Zelensky in Istanbul,” writes [H.R. McMaster](https://www.hoover.org/profiles/h-r-mcmaster) at his Substack, “the Russian dictator or his delegation will be desperate to portray strength while making false promises of cooperation to Russia’s former ally, the United States.” In reality, argues McMaster, the Russian leader has put his nation “in a position of profound weakness.” The Trump team is well acquainted with these tactics, the former national security advisor notes, but some in the administration’s orbit are more sympathetic to flawed rationalizations for a tighter US-Russia relationship. McMaster maintains that Putin’s fundamental goal remains the same: to weaken and divide American society, undermining a strong and cohesive foreign policy approach to American interests internationally. McMaster concludes that the administration should seek to force “Putin to acknowledge the damage he has done to his own nation and that his only viable option is to end his war on Ukraine.”