"He knows Putin Well, And He Fears For Ukraine" - Joey Jens

 

"He Knows Putin Well. And    He Fears for Ukraine." 

Sauli Niinisto, the Finnish president, has carved out a crucial role as an intermediary between East and West, and he is pessimistic about the possibilities for peace. As the threat of a new Russian invasion of Ukraine grew, the European head of state with the most extensive and in-depth experience dealing with Vladimir V. Putin took calls and offered advice to French President Emmanuel Macron and other world leaders desperate for insight into his troubled eastern neighbor. Mr. Niinisto claimed he detected a shift in the Russian before and after his last extensive talk with Mr. Putin last month. Mr. Niinisto stated, "His frame of mind, the determining, decisiveness – that is plainly different." Mr. Putin, he said, felt compelled to grab "the momentum he has currently." He stated that it was difficult to foresee things returning to their previous state. The opposing factions argued about whether or not the Minsk accord, which the Russians insisted be followed, should be fulfilled. For the time being, the only alternatives were for Russia to exert pressure on Europe and extract demands from the US, or, as Putin put it, "warfare." 

Article: 

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/02/13/world/europe/ukraine-russia-finland-sauli-niinisto-putin-nato.html  

By: Joey Jens