Professor: Russians will not negotiate

Vladimir Putin has no appetite for a peace deal to end the war in Ukraine, according to a leading expert in Russian politics.

Dr Ben Noble, associate professor of Russian politics at University College London, said: “Looking at the current negotiations, it doesn’t seem as if Putin has an appetite for a quick peace deal.

“We haven’t seen any real signs of engaging credibly with negotiations from the Russian side so far, and the assumption is that Putin is absolutely dead set on taking control of Kyiv. He’s not trying simply to stick a finger in the eye of the West. He really does seem to be thinking about something more expansive.

“Even if Western governments were to approach Putin and say: ‘ What do you need from us in order for you to stop the war in Ukraine?’, there would be no guarantee that he would treat that as the endpoint. It could be that he has broader plans, including regarding Nato member states.

“When Putin spoke to President Ilham Aliyev of Azerbaijan, he said the reason he is invading Ukraine is because the country’s government is a ‘puppet of the West’.

“But the implication in that statement is that, if post-soviet states were to become more aligned with the West, that might, in effect, provide the grounds from Putin’s perspective for Russia to invade. That’s why some people are worried about Putin’s broader plan – and that, even if a settlement were to be reached over Ukraine, Putin would not stop there.

“Rather than considering what package the West could propose to Putin to bring about peace, we have to focus on what the Ukrainians are doing, what their negotiations are, and the seriousness – or lack of seriousness – from the Russian side in engaging in the negotiation process.”