How to deal with Putin explained

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Estonia comes to the debate around handling President Putin as perhaps the greatest success story of the countries that escaped rule from Moscow: four times as rich as Ukraine on a per capita basis — after starting in similar positions at the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991 — and now secure as a member of the European Union and NATO. Today, Estonia likes to compare itself to Finland and Sweden, rather than Ukraine and others on Russia’s border.

2/1/2022 Politico

https://www.politico.com/news/2022/02/01/estonia-prime-minis…

Take it from Kaja Kallas: Western allies need “strategic patience” if they want to beat Vladimir Putin. The Estonian prime minister’s mantra, born out of four generations of family resistance against Moscow power grabs: Keep Putin at the table, without giving anything away.

“I can see clearly what Putin does,” Kallas told POLITICO in an interview Tuesday, warning against giveaways to the Kremlin as pressure mounts to defuse a military buildup of more than 100,000 Russian troops at the Russia-Ukraine border.

Kallas’ great-grandfather campaigned to create the first Estonian Republic in 1918 and was its first secret police chief. Her mother, grandmother and great-grandmother were sent to Siberia as Soviet prisoners, and her father, Siim Kallas, served as one of newly independent Estonia’s first prime ministers from 2002 to 2003. Now, Kaja Kallas is leading a new generation of resistance against Moscow.

“They use this old Soviet type of negotiation tactics,” said Kallas, who became Estonia’s first female prime minister last year. “First, demand the maximum, demand something that has never belonged to you. Then second, present ultimatums. And third, they do not give one inch in the negotiations, because there will always be people in the West who will negotiate and give you something that you didn’t have before.”

“They have asked that NATO goes back to its 1997 borders. Well, this is outrageous. It means that half of the members in NATO shouldn’t be in NATO,” Kallas said.

https://www.politico.com/news/2022/02/01/estonia-prime-minis…

Estonians and Russians have a long history spanning over 1000 years.

Jaak

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“First, demand the maximum, demand something that has never belonged to you. Then second, present ultimatums. And third, they do not give one inch in the negotiations, because there will always be people in the West who will negotiate and give you something that you didn’t have before.”

Sounds about right. I have expected this current situation was about making threats, to obtain concessions in exchange for sending the troops back to their barracks, then redeploying the troops again, and demanding more concessions. Wash, rinse, repeat. Somehow, the voices of the western rope sellers have not been carrying the day this time, wrt Russia, or China.

Steve

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Somehow, the voices of the western rope sellers have not been carrying the day this time, wrt Russia, or China.

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It is difficult to have a consistent policy against Russian bullying, cyber attacks, incursions on air and water boundaries, little green men in other countries, false information campaigns and interference in elections around the world.

Just look all the Americans who think we should not support Ukraine, NATO, EU or the UN.

I just do not understand what these people have for brains. Ask any WWII refugee from Europe and they will say that Russia is the biggest threat to world peace.

Jaak

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Ask any WWII refugee from Europe and they will say that Russia is the biggest threat to world peace.

Oh, but Tucker Carlson thinks Russia is great. He loves Putin just like the orange Mussolini.

Cucker’s listeners started telling their representatives that the US should side with the Russians after the Quisling sucked up to Putin. So sickening.

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I just do not understand what these people have for brains. Ask any WWII refugee from Europe and they will say that Russia is the biggest threat to world peace.

Russia is the second biggest threat to world peace. China is the biggest. And more accurately neither of them are really the threat … the actual threat is the lack of true individual freedom.

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I just do not understand what these people have for brains. Ask any WWII refugee from Europe and they will say that Russia is the biggest threat to world peace.

Russia is the second biggest threat to world peace. China is the biggest.

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So I guess you are not a WWII refugee from Europe.

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So I guess you are not a WWII refugee from Europe.

My entire family were WWII refugees from Europe. I am the first on both sides to have been born in the USA.

That, however, isn’t relevant to the fact that China is a somewhat bigger threat to world peace than Russia is. Part of the reason is that Russia can be “turned off” pretty quickly, and they would rapidly run out of money to wreak havoc. That is not true of China, they are nearly self-sufficient in many realms, and can keep going for much longer if necessary. Finally, China takes the long view, ALWAYS. Russia doesn’t always take the long view, Putin wants to conquer NOW, and that will be his downfall. China doesn’t care about conquering NOW, they waited 99 years to subjugate Hong Hong, and they might wait 99 to subjugate Taiwan, but subjugate it they will.

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