Hostage Diplomacy! Vladimir Putin Outplays the West Again

Russian President Vladimir Putin's strategy of arresting foreigners on trivial and unfounded charges has enabled him to secure the release of murderers, spies and hackers through deals with the West that are frankly unbalanced, the editorial staff of the American newspaper The Washington Post comments.

Thanks to this "hostage diplomacy" the Kremlin leader returned to his country the most wanted Russian prisoner in the West - murderer Vadim Krasikov, convicted in Germany. “It was the biggest victory for the authoritarian Russian dictator, which stems from his willingness to break global norms to get what he wants from Western leaders,“ the publication explains.

Putin hinted at his determination to free Vadim Krasikov in February during an interview with American journalist Tucker Carlson. He called Krasikov “a patriot“, avoiding explicitly mentioning his last name.

“Throughout his time at the helm of political power in Russia, Putin has repeatedly demonstrated his contempt for the rules-based global order, invading Georgia and Ukraine, seizing territory by force, carrying out attacks and assassinations on foreign soil, and arresting foreigners in Russia on trumped-up charges. This practice is known as “hostage diplomacy“, the editorial office explained.

“Thursday's major prisoner exchange highlighted the grave imbalance that has become typical of such deals, with Russia winning the release of those convicted of serious crimes while the West focuses on its own citizens imprisoned on trivial or unfounded charges, or even on Russian citizens who are victims of political persecution by Putin's government,“ the publication wrote.