Putin peace talk comments designed to pressure West, analysts say
Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Mikhail Svetlov | Getty Images News | Getty Images
Analysts say Russian President Vladimir Putin’s comments Wednesday regarding peace talks with Ukraine were likely aimed at piling pressure on the West to push Ukraine toward the negotiating table with Russia.
Addressing the G20’s virtual summit on Wednesday, Putin blamed Ukraine for the lack of peace talks to end the war, claiming Russia was ready to return to the negotiating table. Analysts said the conciliatory tone of the comments was designed to pressure the West into pushing Kyiv to negotiate with Russia.
“Putin … reiterated boilerplate rhetoric falsely portraying Russia as willing to engage in meaningful negotiations, likely to pressure the West into prematurely pushing Ukraine to negotiate with Russia,” analysts at the Institute for the Study of War think tank said Wednesday.
The ISW noted, however, that Putin and other Russian officials have routinely falsely claimed that the Kremlin is ready to negotiate to end the war while signaling that the Kremlin maintains its maximalist objectives, including territorial claims and regime change.
“Kremlin officials have pushed this narrative while claiming that Ukraine is unwilling to negotiate with Russia, likely to coerce Western officials into prematurely offering concessions favorable to Russia rather than engage in meaningful, good faith negotiations.”
The ISW said it “has observed no indications that Putin does not retain his maximalist objectives and continues to assess that a premature cessation of hostilities in Ukraine greatly increases the likelihood of renewed Russian aggression on terms far more favorable to the Kremlin in the near future.”
Ukraine has said it’s willing to negotiate with Russia as soon as Russia removes its forces from Ukraine’s internationally recognized territory, including regions it claims to have annexed.
— Holly Ellyatt
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