It’s Russian oligarchs that could stop Putin, British general says

Russia’s history offers examples of leaders being forced to heed the influential elite and bring wars to an end.

This was stated in an interview with Ukrinform by Sir Rupert Smith, former NATO Deputy Supreme Commander Allied Powers Europe (DSACEUR).

“If Putin is the sole decision maker, then the cost to his own position of making peace has to be less than the cost of sustaining the war,” Smith said.

In his view, although economic problems and shortages of human resources are increasing the price Russia pays for prolonging the war, a tipping point has not yet been reached.

“And the tipping point is not the people. It’s the ruling oligarchy, the large-scale criminal enterprise running the country,” Smith emphasized.

At the same time, he noted that he is not confident that Putin, in the end, is a decision maker.

“Quite a good example in the past might be the Russian-Japanese war of 1912 when they had to make peace. And that peace was largely dictated by aristocracy. The cost to the Tsar of making peace was less than the continuing situation in the country,” Smith stressed.

As Ukrinform reported, the European Union believes that peace in Ukraine depends on a decision by Russian President Vladimir Putin and therefore does not rule out negotiations with him in the future in order to help achieve peace in Ukraine.

Meanwhile, the United Kingdom did not support the idea put forward by France and Italy to resume direct negotiations with Vladimir Putin.