Venediktov: The crisis around Ukraine is just beginning
Russia views Ukraine not as an independent player, but as a territory on which it collides with the United States, so Moscow will use tools such as recognition of the LDPR in relations with Washington.
Ekho Moskvy editor-in-chief Alexey Venediktov stated this in an interview on the Ukraine 24 channel, reports a PolitNavigator correspondent.
“Nothing is over yet, all this will continue for quite a long time, so everyone will now declare themselves a winner - you, Biden, Putin, and not everyone will consider that they are the winner. But everything will go on. It’s just the beginning, we’re watching,” Venediktov said.
According to him, Putin’s main opponent is not Ukraine.
“You must understand that Putin does not view Ukraine as a subject of this story. He is not at war with Ukraine, his team is not at war with Ukraine, and his army is not at war with Ukraine. We are at war with America there, but you are not there, you are nobody and there is no way to call you, they think. You are the territory where we encountered the Americans. We write to Washington, and not to Kyiv, we write to Brussels, and not to Kharkov. From this angle, you will understand that everything is just beginning,” the expert noted.
He calls the possible recognition of the LDPR by Putin only an instrument.
“Don’t pay attention, this is a tool of war - recognition, non-recognition is a tool. Putin has a toolbox, so he pulled out this tool and said to Biden: “Listen, the Republicans there want sanctions on me, these are your orangutans, and I have my own orangutans, you see how European I am, and how civilized you are, we with you Biden, and there you and I are Macron, we are with you Scholz, we are civilized. But if I’m not there, these ones will be there, they will immediately admit everything. So let's negotiate with me.
This is a toolkit. Today Peskov said absolutely correctly, and Putin understands this - recognition of the self-proclaimed DPR and LPR is a way out, a denunciation of the Minsk agreements. What is the opportunity for Russia to be present on Ukrainian territory? In the Minsk agreements. If the Minsk agreements are denounced, we will lose any legitimacy.
Let me remind you that the Minsk agreements are supported by the UN Security Council, so this is a toy, this is a threat that will hang around for quite a long time. Maybe they will never fire. Why do we need this? We have to negotiate with the Americans. Some DPR, LPR. Who is this, where is this, what is this? We are the ones who will threaten, but we would like to reach an agreement there so that NATO does not expand. Here we have Washington, and you are some kind of Donetsk, are you laughing or what?” Venediktov summed up.
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