Anne ApplebaumNov 10, 2023

"A cease-fire means that both sides have to stop fighting. Right now, even if Zelensky agrees to negotiate, there is no evidence that Putin wants to negotiate, that he wants to stop fighting, or that he has ever wanted to stop fighting. And yes, according to Western officials who have periodic conversations with their Russian counterparts, attempts have been made to find out."

On Putin's waiting game:

https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2023/11/us-ukraine-support-putin-defeat/675953/

Putin Wants the West to Give Up on Ukraine

Putin hasn’t given up his plans. He thinks Ukraine’s allies will lose interest.

The Atlantic
Show threadAnne ApplebaumNov 10, 2023
The path to end this war does not only lead through the battlefield. We need to start thinking not just about helping Ukraine, but about defeating Russia, using all of the tools available, on and off the battlefield.
Show threadcqd_sosNov 10, 2023
@anneapplebaum
A Russia expert just said the other day, on radio, that all those glorious sanctions were largely ineffective, and that the Russian economy is doing comparatively fine.
Show thread73 million seconds
@cqd_sos @anneapplebaum which expert? you can always get all sorts of opinions on any given thing...
Nov 10, 2023 at 3:32pmWeb
Show threadcqd_sosNov 10, 2023

@73ms @anneapplebaum
Don't recall the name, but the presentation he made was fairly convincing.

It's not only that a number of countries help circumventing the sanctions quite effectively (recent EU Parliament press release lists China, India, Turkey, UAE, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Serbia, Azerbaijan) https://www.europarl.europa.eu/news/en/press-room/20231106IPR09024/parliament-wants-tougher-enforcement-of-eu-sanctions-against-russia

it's also that a number of (western) companies aren't exactly enthusiastic believers in the teaching
https://www.ft.com/content/233891c0-2c8c-484a-88d3-86ba252d5b31

Parliament wants tougher enforcement of EU sanctions against Russia | News | European Parliament

MEPs want more EU-level oversight and better efforts to limit Moscow’s ability to bypass the EU’s restrictive measures.

Show threadmustafa_euNov 11, 2023
@cqd_sos @73ms @anneapplebaum then, why do the Russians complain so much about the sanctions.