Unless I’m missing something, I see nothing that can be offered to Putin to allow him to save face. He has been persistent in saying that Ukraine just has to accept that the 4 eastern oblasts and Crimea belong to Russia. That is not acceptable to the Ukrainians, nor should it be. If anything, their position has hardened, even in the part of Ukraine occupied by Russia prior to the war. Now fully 98% of the people hate the Russians, even among those who had a somewhat favorable attitude toward Russia before the current hostilities.

It would be wonderful if Russia became a peaceful member of European society. Their history strongly indicates that this will never happen until there is a change in philosophy among the leaders of the country. I’m not holding my breath. Russian leaders from the czars to the communists to Putin have always had imperialistic ambitions. They have constantly been aggressive towards their neighbors for centuries. It seems to be part of their DNA.

As to removing the illusory threat of NATO, NATO is a voluntary DEFENSIVE
alliance that countries have to meet certain qualifications to join. No one has ever held a gun to the head of any of the leaders of the countries that have become members. Their decisions have been due to their exercise of their own right to self determination of what is in their best interests. The reason there has been an expansion of NATO is precisely because of Russia’s predictably aggressive behavior. Are you seriously suggesting that current neighbors of Russia, who are NATO members, should give up the one thing that guarantees their security? That is not a reasonable solution.