By Andy Silvester
The former head of the British Army has said Vladimir Putin is pushing the idea of peace talks to end the Ukraine war because he’s in a “position of weakness.”
Lord Richard Dannatt said of Putin’s negotiation hints that “the reason why he’s talking about this at the present moment is that he knows he’s in trouble. He’s been raising fresh troops, mobilising several thousands we are told. But I don’t think he’s equipping them very well.”
Putin gave the order to invade Ukraine in February and Kremlin planners expected a swift victory. However, the Russian army is now protecting just a small sliver of the land it picked up in the early days of the conflict, and Western support for Ukraine shows little sign of falling away.
“One has to ask why he’s saying what he is saying. He is, I think, speaking from a position of weakness. If I was the Ukrainian President, I would not want to hear talk of peace talks at the present time. And, frankly, to be honest, I don’t think we should be talking about it either, because it gives Putin a little bit of encouragement that maybe the West is starting to talk about peace talks,” Dannatt said, in a lengthy interview withGB News today.
Dannatt also warned that Putin would be under domestic pressure, as the mobilisation of reserves had made it “everyone in Russia’s war” as opposed to a special military operation, as it was originally badged.
“We are ready to negotiate witheveryone involved about acceptable solutions, but that is up to them – we are not the ones refusing to negotiate, they are,” Putin told state television in an interview broadcast on Christmas Day.
Lord Richard Dannatt led the British Army as Chair of the General staff from 2006 to 2008.
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