He’s going to act from the position of strength, which involves the use of sanctions and pressure on the Kremlin. But at the same time, with a dialog that allows Russian President Vladimir Putin to abandon the escalation in exchange for easing the sanctions regime and building normal relations at least on those issues on which the parties can agree.
I have no doubt that Putin will not hear Biden. First, because the very fact of pressure on Russia is perceived by him as a violation of the conditions of “equality.”
After all, Putin’s main idea is to be on an equal footing with world leaders. And it does not matter that Russia’s economic potential is far inferior to that of the world’s leading countries. It’s not really important that Russia’s political weight is based solely on hooliganism, aggression, crimes, and not on actual influence.
Secondly, that’s because, even with all his delusions of grandeur, Putin sees Russia as a victim of Western aggression. And it’s not a joke, not at all. According to Putin, the West has disintegrated the Soviet Union and hinders the reunification of “primordial Russian lands” – namely Russia, Ukraine, and Belarus, and when the Russians themselves want to recreate their own state, the West imposes sanctions.
Thirdly, it’s due to the fact that Putin sees any offer to talk as a sign of weakness, not strength. He does not understand what constructive dialog is. He is convinced that if one side offers to talk, it means that it is ready to capitulate so he needs to put even more pressure. This applies not only to Zelenskyy. This also applies to Biden.
And it will continue this way for years, as long as Putin is president and as long as Ukraine exists.
Further reading:
- Kremlin behaving toward Ukraine now the way it did toward Georgia before 2008 invasion, Portnikov says
- “Dropping rumor bombs in Ukraine”: Russia’s building up disinformation around its military build-up”
- “Poke-and-probe.” Why Russia is massing troops & military hardware along Ukraine border
- Vitaly Portnikov: Putin as “peacemaker” in Karabakh is a warning signal for Ukraine
- “The ghost of the Soviet Union was definitively buried in Ukraine in 2014”
