Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda has said Vladimir Putin only respects those capable of showing force and does not regard the European Union as a serious threat, casting doubt on the prospects for meaningful EU-led negotiations with Moscow.
"I don't think now is the right time to start negotiations with Putin, because Putin doesn't want to see us at the negotiating table. Putin respects force. Putin respects the United States and is afraid of them. Is he also afraid of the European Union? I have doubts," Nausėda said in an interview with Bloomberg TV published on Thursday.
He pointed to the EU's sanctions record as insufficient on its own. "Yes, we have introduced 20 sanction packages. Yes, we have some leverage to damage the Russian economy. Is it enough for Putin to want to see us at the negotiating table? I have doubts."
Nausėda said negotiations could only become viable once Moscow genuinely understood it must make concessions and demonstrated real signals of wanting peace. He also stressed that the European Union must speak with a single voice if it is to carry any weight in such a process.
The president added that the sooner Russia understands it cannot win the war against Ukraine, the better, and that it was important for Russian society to begin experiencing the war not through television screens, but at first hand.
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