Putin has tried everything possible to reconcile with the west. He's been incredibly clear about what Russia's interests are and what Russia's redlines are. The only thing he's been diplomatically inconsistent about is the consequences of crossing Russia's redlines but even then he's always erred on the side of inaction or diplomacy, even when that costs him politically. Putin attempted to use diplomacy to stop Ukraine's war against the Donbas republics for eight fucking years before he took action, including backing 2 separate ceasefire agreements. Can you imagine the US attempting diplomacy for 8 years with a country that's constantly launching artillery against a US-backed separatist region? Imagine if what was done to the Donbas was being done to Taiwan or Kosovo, what do you think the US reaction would be?
Putin has tried everything possible to reconcile with the west. He's been incredibly clear about what Russia's interests are and what Russia's redlines are. The only thing he's been diplomatically inconsistent about is the consequences of crossing Russia's redlines but even then he's always erred on the side of inaction or diplomacy, even when that costs him politically. Putin attempted to use diplomacy to stop Ukraine's war against the Donbas republics for eight fucking years before he took action, including backing 2 separate ceasefire agreements. Can you imagine the US attempting diplomacy for 8 years with a country that's constantly launching artillery against a US-backed separatist region? Imagine if what was done to the Donbas was being done to Taiwan or Kosovo, what do you think the US reaction would be?
Except Taiwan in this scenario shares a land border with Maine