Ambassador in Moscow: Putin "not at all willing to negotiate"
Ukraine is a long way from victory against the Russian aggressors. However, negotiations with Moscow are not an option for Kiev. According to the German ambassador to Russia, they would also be completely futile: Putin is sticking to his war aims. However, he is beginning to sense a longing for normality among the population.
The German ambassador in Moscow, Alexander Graf Lambsdorff, currently sees no change in Russian President Vladimir Putin's stance on the war in Ukraine. "Putin has just reaffirmed his war aims, he is not at all willing to negotiate," Lambsdorff told Redaktionsnetzwerk Deutschland.
There is also no indication that Putin will change his stance after the presidential election in March 2024. In the diplomat's view, there is also no indication that Putin could be replaced. Putin's re-election is to be expected, said Lambsdorff. He does not "currently recognize any fault lines in the Putin system". Nor had he been able to "recognize any indication" that the Kremlin leader's health "might not be good".
The German ambassador considers further tightened EU sanctions against Moscow to be effective. Sanctions are "not a light switch", said Lambsdorff. "You don't turn on a sanction and change the behavior of the sanctioned side at the same time." Sanctions are there to "drive up the costs of certain behavior. And that is demonstrably happening".
War makes everyday life more difficult for Russians
Lambsdorff noted a cautious move away from war among the Russian population. "There is more of a diffuse longing for peace among the normal population," said the German diplomat. Surveys show "that the desire for a return to normality is very strong". Many people were bothered by the inflation and the limited travel opportunities due to the sanctions.
Former FDP foreign policy expert Lambsdorff took up his post in August. The ambassador post in Moscow is currently one of the most difficult that the Federal Foreign Office has to fill. Following the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Russia and Germany expelled diplomatic personnel from each other on several occasions. Diplomatic relations between the two countries are at a low point.
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The Russian population, according to Ambassador Alexander Graf Lambsdorff, shows a cautious move away from the war, with a growing desire for peace and a return to normality. Despite this, Russian President Vladimir Putin, as Lambsdorff stated, is unyielding in his war aims and shows no signs of negotiating over the conflict in Ukraine, which is taking place at the Kremlin in Russia.
Source: www.ntv.de
