Defence Secretary Streeting warns against appeasing Putin — The Independent

Defence Secretary Wes Streeting warned against appeasing Vladimir Putin after Donald Trump’s chief negotiator on the war in Ukraine called him a humanitarian. The Independent reported this, citing the official’s appearance on BBC Newsnight on October 22.

The line between diplomacy and appeasement

Streeting said he understood the need for diplomatic courtesy during negotiations when the interlocutor is sitting opposite the negotiator. At the same time, he stressed that there is a clear line between appeasement and a peace process.

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The defence secretary also called Putin a cold-blooded killer. Asked whether he considered US actions to be appeasement, Streeting replied with a warning not to feed the crocodile.

A reference to Churchill

This phrase refers to a Winston Churchill saying often quoted in the context of appeasement: a person feeding a crocodile in the hope that it will eat them last. According to the publication, Churchill used this comparison in relation to neutral states at the beginning of World War II.