Matthias Schranner comments: “How can Putin be persuaded to back down?”
Putin believes in military success and dismisses all proposed solutions. There is a threat of a long and cruel war for the cities.
How can Putin be persuaded to negotiate seriously and avert the next catastrophe?
I believe, there is no possibility for a negotiation yet.
As you may know, I was in the police force for 17 years. Negotiating with criminals taught me important lessons. Criminals break existing law, are willing to use violence and are not amenable to rational arguments. Putin breaks international law; he invades a sovereign country with brutal force.
Every day he becomes more dangerous, he sees himself increasingly backed into a corner and even threatens to start a nuclear war.
Western countries are currently trying to weaken Putin with economic and financial sanctions. This will probably succeed in the long term, but it will have no effect in the short term. It may be that he will be pressured by his own people, but I think that is very unlikely given the current situation.
Negotiations are necessary and must lead to a cease-fire. However, it is too early for negotiations, Putin still sees a non-agreement as a better option and will therefore not back down. We have received many comments on our newsletters, and we would like to thank you for that. The question has arisen why I only write “Putin” instead of using the correct salutation “President Putin”. Honestly, from my perspective, Putin is not a president. He is a criminal and must be treated as such.
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