Commentary: We want the war to end. But should calls for negotiating with Putin be taken seriously?

Three months have passed since Russia invaded Ukraine, and calls for negotiations with Russian President Vladimir Putin are growing.

The leaders of the European Union’s three largest member states — Germany, France and Italy — have all recently issued statements calling for a cease-fire, with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz underscoring the need for this to come “as quickly as possible.” Italy and Hungary sought — unsuccessfully — for the EU to call for an immediate cease-fire at its summit this week.

The influential New York