Red lines of Russia. Expert: why don't we reverse this situation?

– Russia he keeps saying, “if you do this, if you cross this or that red line, we can escalate.” Why don't we turn the situation around and tell them: “We have (our own red) lines and if you bomb one more civilian building, don't be surprised if, for example, we provide (Ukraine – editor's note) Taurus cruise missiles or the US allows Ukraine to attack targets military in Russia,” said former chairman of the Munich Security Conference Wolfgang Ischinger.

– In this way, the responsibility for the decision: to cross the red lines or suffer the consequences will rest with Moscow – he emphasized in an interview with Politico during the recent meeting of the Yalta European Strategy (YES) in Kiev. The conversation was published on the website over the weekend.

It's clear that “if you draw a red line, you have to stick to it. You can't do like (former president USA – permissible ed.) Barack Obama set a red line on the use of chemical weapons (during the civil war – editor's note) in Syriaand then did not enforce it, the diplomat noted.

Ischinger, who has experience in conducting peace negotiations, including: during the war in the Balkans, he also commented in the context of discussions about future peace negotiations aimed at ending Russia's war against Ukraine.

– We must remember that Russia, due to its history, experience and cultural behavior, does not respect concessions or weakness, Russia respects strength – he noted. He added that “if we want to encourage the Russians to negotiate, we must ensure that the Ukrainians do not lose any more territory in Donbas and are assured of our help in surviving this winter.”

Washington and Moscow will have to establish a general framework for peace talks, and this will not happen before the US presidential elections in November, he said. According to the diplomat, Putin and his allies will not want to reach an agreement with the chancellor German Olaf Scholz or French President Emmanuel Macron. “They consider Europeans to be Washington's vassals,” he said.

In his opinion, the result of the US elections will be important for the further development of the situation. – It will be the difference whether (democrat) wins Kamala) Harris or (republican Donald)Trump. If it's the latter, I see the risk that Trump will think he can do it (i.e. end it) himself war in Ukraine – permissible ed.), simply by calling Vladimir (Putin) – emphasized Ischinger.