russia always lies. For any negotiation to be successful, both sides must trust that the agreed conditions will be honored, writes Associate Professor of Economics at Case Western Reserve University Roman Sheremeta.
Ukrainians would have to trust that putin would uphold a peace agreement. But the only thing we can reliably trust about putin is that he lies — consistently and without consequence. This is the same man who repeatedly and publicly claimed he had no intention of invading Ukraine, only to launch a full-scale invasion days later.
From the Budapest Memorandum — where russia committed to respect Ukraine’s sovereignty — to hundreds of direct kremlin falsehoods like “we are not going to attack Ukraine,” the pattern is constant. They lie as a matter of state policy. Any guarantees issued by russia are worth nothing.
Now imagine a scenario in which a “peace agreement” is signed. Trump declares it “the best deal ever” and even announces some form of security guarantees.
Then, one day, russia claims there was an assassination attempt on putin. Ukrainian drones allegedly targeted his residence. No evidence is required — perhaps a few fabricated photos or videos will do. The kremlin declares the agreement void and resumes military operations. That’s it.
This is not hypothetical. This is how russia operates. They fabricate pretexts. They lie reflexively. They break promises without hesitation.
You cannot make agreements with liars. And you cannot build peace on the word of a regime that has never honored it.
