Really interesting article and it's great to game out some different scenarios. I think the twin facts that Russia can feed itself plus is still clearly able to make a lot of money from selling energy (oil, gas) despite sanctions... means that the "weaken Russia by trading with it" is far harder to follow as a policy now than in the 80s. Arming China with a nuclear fleet seems risky too... but the idea of thinking outside the box (and questioning sanctions as a strategy) is really interesting and useful and I really enjoyed reading this piece.