Both Putin and the European Union are redoubling their military efforts in Ukraine by sending more troops and weapons to the front lines. Meanwhile, the West has imposed harsh economic sanctions on Russia, from the closure of airspace to Russian airlines to the partial expulsion of Russia from the international payment platform SWIFT. Sanctions that, for the moment, have not made the Russian president back down. In parallel, the negotiations to stop the war in Ukraine have started in Belarus, where the Ukrainian and Russian delegations met on Monday to negotiate. This first meeting has not resulted in any agreement, although both sides have agreed to continue talks in the coming days.
Putin also has the option of establishing security negotiations in the region with NATO. These would not be easy negotiations, since the Atlantic Alliance will not give up its open-door policy so that any country can request its union, nor will it give up its premise of respecting the sovereignty of the neighboring countries of Russia that want to join. If these premises were accepted, Putin could negotiate disarmament policies, arms control, transparency regarding military maneuvers or security in the region. Looking ahead to a possible negotiation, NATO has warned on multiple occasions that they are also a nuclear power.
In the video that accompanies this news item, El País journalist Lluís Bassets, an international political analyst, answers the following questions:
- Does the international community have other tools besides sanctions to negotiate with Putin?
- Does NATO reserve some type of compensation to bring positions closer to Putin?
- How should NATO respond to Putin’s announcement to activate its nuclear force?