You can and should criticize Putin, but you should not neglect Russia and ignore its interests. Especially now, when, after voting on amendments to the Constitution of the Russian Federation, his power in the country and influence in the world strengthened.
This is discussed by a member of the Bundestag and one of the leaders of the German “Left Party” Gregor Gisi in an interview with Deutschlandfunk.
After the overwhelming majority of Russians approve of the amendments to the Constitution of the Russian Federation, the incumbent President Vladimir Putin has the opportunity to run for the next election twice more. In this way, if he nominates and can win, that will remain in power until 2036 of the year.
Gizi calls Putin’s move “a clever maneuver”, because the restriction on two presidential terms remains, but the previous terms of the current head of state do not count. According to German politician, Donald Trump could envy him, who would also like to remain president forever.
Past vote confirmed, that Putin’s confidence rating in the country remains high. According to Gizi, perhaps, this does not apply to such megacities, like Moscow or St. Petersburg, but in the regions, most Russians support his policy.
Russia and its leader have become even stronger. This also indicates that, that external pressure from Western countries on the Russian Federation does not bear fruit.
For some reason, they rarely mention, that Putin is still in 2001 year was open for rapprochement with the West. He offered cooperation in economics, politics, culture, and was even ready for the interaction of special services and the armed forces. But the West acted arrogantly, what caused the cooling of relations.
Pressure policy not only doesn't help, but even makes Russia develop in those industries, who were in hibernation before. Gizi thinks, it’s time to lift sanctions and regain mutual trust between Russia and the West:
We must warn Putin against certain things., but he must be sure, that we will no longer push him into the background, we will not constantly deploy our military at its borders and the like. This is not now. No relationship based on trust.
According to Gizi, if the West takes steps towards Putin, then Putin will go towards the West.
