Former NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen told The Economist that European countries should not rush to appoint a negotiator for contacts with Russia. In his view, Europe first needs to create conditions under which Moscow will take the West’s position into account.
Rasmussen believes the Kremlin respects only strength, so any peace initiative must be backed by political, economic and military pressure. Without that, he argues, the appointment of a mediator would have no practical effect.
He proposed increasing sanctions pressure on the Russian economy, speeding up the restoration of Ukraine’s critical infrastructure and clearly setting out the timeline for Kiev’s integration into the European Union.
Only after these steps, Rasmussen believes, can Europe expect productive talks with Russia. Otherwise, he says, no negotiator will be able to influence the position of the Russian authorities.
Earlier, on May 29, Russian President Vladimir Putin said the European Union should choose its own representative for negotiations with Moscow. According to him, his proposed candidate, former German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder, received a mixed reaction in Europe.