ROME, February 16. /TASS/. Russian President Vladimir Putin won a tactical victory over the West at this stage of the Ukrainian crisis negotiations by launching a discussion on the European security architecture in which Russia has a central role, a prominent Italian political scientist Lucio Caracciolo said in an interview with La Stampa newspaper.
"It is too early to give final assessments. But we can say that Putin won a tactical victory. He ensured that Russia regained a role to be reckoned with by the United States, he has started Russian-American talks on global strategic arms and the European security architecture, and the destabilization of Ukraine has ensured that the country will not join NATO. He (the Russian president - TASS) affirmed the principle that Russia is a great power," said Caracciolo, director of the Italian geopolitical monthly magazine, Limes. He recalled Moscow's role in regaining control of the situation in Kazakhstan and the growing Russian influence in Africa.
The expert believes that Russia had no intention of invading Ukraine. "It cannot be completely ruled out, but it would have been a failure for the political line. Putin would have faced the dissent of the Russians themselves, would have gone against the asserted thesis of the brotherhood of Russians and Ukrainians. By maintaining tension, he achieved all his goals, starting with the discussion of global security," the political scientist went on to say.
"The Ukrainians have not understood that Kiev is not a priority for Washington and that they can count on the support of Europe and the United States only to a certain extent. No one has thought about their real accession to NATO. Putin has also pushed Ukraine to the point where the country has become unattractive for foreign investment," the expert said.
Caracciolo admitted that he saw no logic in US President Joe Biden's reaction to this crisis. He also believes that gas supply issues did not play a decisive role in German Chancellor Olaf Scholz's negotiations in Moscow. "I don't think this is about a war over gas. This is a strategic and geopolitical game. Even the Americans are not interested in having Europe's energy dependence on Russia completely abolished," the political scientist said.