Russian President Vladimir Putin will not sit down at the negotiating table with Ukraine until he felt a threat to his regime, particularly from an internal protest movement in the Russian Federation. To achieve this, the West must strengthen Ukraine and tighten the sanctions noose around the Kremlin, writes DW, UNIAN agency reported.
German diplomat Rüdiger von Fritsch, who is also a former ambassador to Moscow, explained to the publication that at the moment Putin “is absolutely not interested in ending this war”, as he expects that his aggression against Ukraine “ they will be rewarded in the end“.
The chairman of the Munich Security Conference and former foreign policy advisor to Chancellor Angela Merkel, Christoph Heusgen, is of the same opinion. He does not believe that negotiations with the Russian Federation will be possible in the near future. “I see the only chance for peace in returning Ukraine to a strong position in this conflict,” said Heusgen.
At the same time, he expressed doubt that Russia will be able to participate in the next peace summit, as the Kremlin rejects Ukrainian peace terms.
Von Fritsch notes that Putin will enter into serious negotiations only when his power in Russia itself is in question. "Vladimir Putin must constantly buy the approval of the population at home. He rules his country through repression, propaganda and constant bribery," the diplomat said.
While sanctions have already put the Russian economy under pressure, the Kremlin also fears the unexpected - such as an uprising that could destabilize the regime in Moscow. It was this kind of rebellion by Prigozhin that threatened Putin's regime.
"Putin is afraid of protests...then he will be ready to negotiate. How do we achieve this? Strengthen Ukraine and introduce additional sanctions against Russia," Rüdiger von Fritsch said.