'It's war and the enemy gets a vote’: The man advising Blinken

When you look at the major diplomatic events of the last thirty years, Derek Chollet has experienced them all. He’s worked with legends like James Baker, Strobe Talbott and Richard Holbrooke and served in some of the highest echelons of the White House, the Pentagon and the U.S. Department of State. From Bosnia to Syria — and now Russia — Chollet has helped to shape America’s approaches to its policy abroad. Today, Playbook co-author Ryan Lizza sits down with Chollet, who’s currently the Counselor of the Department of State, to dig into Foggy Bottom’s approach to helping Ukraine and handling Putin. Ryan Lizza is a Playbook co-author for POLITICO.Derek Chollet is the Counselor of the U.S. Department of State.Kara Tabor is a producer for POLITICO audio.Carlos Prieto is a producer for POLITICO audio.Brook Hayes is senior producer for POLITICO audio.Jenny Ament is executive producer for POLITICO audio.