John E. Herbst, a seasoned diplomat and current director of the Eurasia Center at the Atlantic Council, previously served as US ambassador to Ukraine and as consul general in Jerusalem. Drawing on his dual experience in the Middle East and Eastern Europe, he signs this analysis that compares American diplomatic approaches in both regions. Herbst suggests that the lessons learned from Donald Trump’s recent success in brokering a cease-fire between Israel and Hamas could inspire a strategy to end the war in Ukraine.
As the cease-fire his administration brokered between Israel and Hamas went into effect last week, US President Donald Trump told the Israeli Knesset that next he wanted “to get Russia done.”
The Israel-Hamas war and the Russia-Ukraine war are obviously different in many important ways. Having served as a US diplomat both in Israel and Ukraine, I know the regions where these conflicts take place have much that makes them distinct. Nonetheless, there are several important lessons from Trump’s recent triumph in the Middle East that might apply to ending the war in Europe.
