Even without major concessions
Johnson: Putin would come out “face-saving”.
4/27/2022 3:47 am
In connection with peace negotiations, there is a lot of talk about a “face-saving solution” that should be offered to Putin. Britain’s President Johnson thinks that’s unnecessary. The state-controlled media in Russia would sell a withdrawal one way or the other as a success.
According to British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, Russian President Vladimir Putin has the “political leeway” to end his invasion of Ukraine face-saving – also thanks to censorship in Russia. This is due to “the massive Russian support for his actions and the apparent forgetfulness of the Russian media,” Johnson told TalkTV.
“People say we have to make concessions, we have to worry about what Putin might do because he risks defeat,” Johnson said. However, this is not necessary, since Putin’s position of power is secured because of his control over the media. As a result, Putin could tell the Russian people that the operation launched in Ukraine was “complete” and “technically a success” – although this may not be factual.
Russia describes its invasion of Ukraine as a “military operation”, terms such as “war” or “invasion” are banned in Russia in this context. The Kremlin is threatening to jail anyone who spreads a different version of events than the government version.
The Russian government has repeatedly warned of nuclear war as a result of Western support for Ukraine. Despite these threats, Johnson’s Secretary of State Liz Truss advocated expanding arms production and supplies to Ukraine. “The fate of Ukraine remains in the balance,” she will say, according to a preview of her speech to diplomats and business leaders in London on Wednesday. The support for Kyiv must therefore be further increased. “Heavy weapons, tanks, planes – we have to dig deep into our inventories and ramp up production.”