{"id":57689,"date":"2026-02-20T06:49:40","date_gmt":"2026-02-20T14:49:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.antiwar.com\/blog\/?p=57689"},"modified":"2026-02-20T06:50:16","modified_gmt":"2026-02-20T14:50:16","slug":"john-mearsheimer-asks-is-a-peace-deal-in-ukraine-possible","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.antiwar.com\/blog\/2026\/02\/20\/john-mearsheimer-asks-is-a-peace-deal-in-ukraine-possible\/","title":{"rendered":"John Mearsheimer asks: Is a Peace Deal in Ukraine Possible?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Reprinted from John’s Substack<\/a>:<\/em><\/p>\n

On 19 February 2026, the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft hosted a debate between me and George Beebe, who is the director of grand strategy at Quincy. Emily Jashinsky of UnHerd moderated.<\/p>\n

George argued that it is possible to fashion a peace agreement between Russia and its three adversaries: Europe, Ukraine, and the US.<\/p>\n

In contrast, I argued that no such deal is possible and the war will be settled on the battlefield. We will then get an armistice which would effectively produce a frozen conflict.<\/p>\n

Even though George and I disagreed on some key points, it was a pleasure engaging him in a rational-legal debate on this important subject.<\/p>\n

Quincy took a poll before the debate and then after the debate to determine which of us moved the debate in his direction. I won\u2019t spoil the surprise for you by reporting the results.<\/p>\n