I would prefer not to get into that, Mr. Chair, not because I'm avoiding the question, but because, as we say in court, I think it asks for speculation on my part.
I would say this, however. I have been following Mr. Putin for a long time—what he says and what he does—and I've found that, particularly with respect to this issue of Ukraine, his attitude is terrible. He keeps saying that Ukraine and Russia are one people. He keeps saying that Ukraine is not a real place, not a real state. He denies the existence of a separate Ukrainian people, a separate identity, a separate language. That is what I find most offensive and most dangerous.
He also says things like, “You're making us do this.” He puts his finger on the nuclear button and says, “You're making me do this.” Well, that is the language of an abuser. It is like somebody who is an abuser saying, “I'm only hitting you because you're making me hit you.” It is dangerous talk. It is irrational talk.
Most importantly, though, with respect to the politics of this situation, the denial of the existence of the Ukrainian nation is a precedent to hate speech. Obviously, it precedes all these actions he's taken, and I think it leads to the awful situation in which the world finds itself and in which the people of Ukraine find themselves.
It's also fair to say, Mr. Chair, that the purpose of the sanctions and the purpose of what I've called our unprecedented level of overall NATO assistance to Ukraine is an attempt to convince the Russian people and the people around Mr. Putin that what he is doing is wrong and is not going to work. It's self-destructive. That's the message we're trying to send over and over again.