Oleksandr Turchynov: Allying with Putin against the Islamic State would be a devil’s bargain
Winston Churchill was under no illusions about his wartime alliance with Joseph Stalin. "If Hitler invaded hell, I would make at least a favorable reference to the devil in the House of Commons," he remarked to an aide. This was not a bond forged in friendship and trust. It was a temporary partnership of necessity in the face of a common enemy. As soon as Nazi Germany was defeated, the reality of Stalin's intentions became clear. Promises to hold free elections in the countries under Soviet occupation were broken, and the West spent the next 40 years trying to contain the threat the Soviet Union posed.