Thread by @SabFis3

I had no hope anything would come of the meeting of FMs #Kuleba and #Lavrov yesterday. 2 days ago I wrote that Moscow was beginning to feel the sanctions pressure – and looking for diplomatic wiggle room, without, however, dropping its maximalist positions:
#RussiainvadesUkraine

demilitarisation of Ukraine and neutrality, recognition of Crimea annexation + DLNR. At his presser today Lavrov even went back to blustering about the „fascist junta“ in Kyiv. There was a lot of talk afterwards about Lavrov’s remoteness from the centre of decision making... 2/10

...in the Kremlin. This has been a well-known fact for many years. And yes, he seemed nervous and fiddled during the presser. His position has changed – from a professional and experienced diplomat, feared, loathed, but also respected and even admired by some in the West, 3/10

to a diplomatic pariah + mouthpiece of a war-mongering autocrat in the Kremlin. He probably feels uncomfortable. But let’s not muddy the pool, there are more important things than Lavrov’s comfort zone:

1. Putin still believes he can achieve his goals with military means. 4/10

We don't know his level of information about the trouble the RU army faces. He probably knows, at least to some extent. And he understands that RU is running into very serious economic problems. But he has a different order of priorities. He puts what he believes are RU’s... 5/10

„legitimate security interests“ vis-à-vis UA and the West way above economic considerations. Worst of all, he puts it way above the lives of Ukrainians and Russians alike. So he will continue to wage war. The war will become more bloody, and more Ukrainians and Russians... 6/10

will die in it.

2. All this is possible because Putin and his cronies operate in a political context devoid of accountability. In this context, lack of consideration, atrocity, predatory or criminal behaviour yield no consequences for those in power, regardless of the ... 7/10

...human suffering they cause. Society, „the people“, is only pliable material and can be used and exploited as the powerful see fit. Seen from this perspective, almost no difference exists between the Russian society and other societies. Lack of accountability destroyed ... 8/10

...human lives in Chechnya, in Georgia, in Syria, in Russia during the pandemic, and now it destroys Ukrainian and Russian human lives in Ukraine. It will further affect and destroy human lives in Russia in the wake of Western sanctions. 9/10

What an example of accountability and sense of responsibility #Zelensky shows by comparison: he seeks talks, proposes painful compromise – to take away military pressure and ease the humanitarian catastrophe in besieged UA cities. But, alas, it takes two to tango. 10/10

*Lavrov‘s presser was yesterday, of course. But I was too tired last night to post this 🧵.