The prospects for peace in the Ukraine-Russia conflict swing daily. That does not reflect changes on the battlefield but rather the mercurial nature of U.S. President Donald Trump, whose position on the negotiations shifts with alarming regularity. Real and enduring peace in the war demands a steady, committed United States. The best way to ensure that stability and consistency is similar determination — and readiness — to fight for peace on the part of Ukraine’s other partners, Japan among them.

It has been a whirlwind couple of weeks. Trump announced just two weeks ago that he would be meeting Russian President Vladimir Putin to discuss the Ukraine conflict. That triggered a frenzy as other governments involved in the war that would not be attending the summit — a group that includes Ukraine and its supporters, in Europe and elsewhere — sprang into action to ensure that Trump held the line, continued to back the government of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and did not align himself with Putin.

The meeting in Anchorage, Alaska, a week ago was discombobulating. Trump rolled out the red carpet for the Russian president and hosted him with a bonhomie that was jarring given the war crimes indictments issued against Putin by the International Criminal Court. Diplomacy in some cases demands neutrality, but Trump was effusive, if not fawning, in his hospitality.