Next, Trump must exercise restraint when considering summit encounters with Putin: An early summit would be a completely undeserved reward for the Russian leader. It should only be considered toward the end of a promising negotiation process.

Moreover, the Russian side may well be planning a surprise military attack or major offensive in order to undermine Western or Ukrainian ideas about the negotiating framework. And while the West certainly shouldn’t make things easy for Russia, there has to be room for realism.

Take, for example, the much-discussed idea of having European troops secure a cease-fire line. The political objective here is clear and sound: It would allow Europe to show Trump it’s prepared to do more for its own security than it has so far. But the devil is in the details.

Estimates of the number of troops required to effectively secure a 1,000-kilometer contact line vary from 50,000 to 200,000 — the latter figure came from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy himself. Realistically, could Europe politically or militarily manage this, while the Bundeswehr is struggling to deploy a brigade to Lithuania? Doubts can, therefore, be expressed as to whether Europe would even be capable of credibly securing a cease-fire with a large numbers of troops. And the possible involvement of troops from third countries, including for example India, should be given proper consideration.

For its part, Washington isn’t even thinking about putting “boots on the ground” — a stance which breaks the NATO principle that risks should be shared. It will also make it more difficult for European governments to get the buy-in they need from their parliaments. As seen from Germany, the slogan “in together — out together” has always been a healthy NATO principal.

It’s important we not come up with short-sighted solutions, but set long-term priorities and prepare for a difficult, painful negotiation process, which could take a long time due to its extreme complexity. Above all, we must not only continue to provide military and financial assistance to Ukraine but increase it.

This is the ideal way to achieve a successful outcome for the future of a sovereign, free and undivided Ukraine, and the restoration of Europe’s security.