I found this to be pretty fascinating. It is clear that Vladimir Putin and the Russians believe that the United States did not make a good faith effort to negotiate and meet them halfway on various matters of concern since the dissolution of the Soviet Union. He also communicates a much deeper and more detailed understanding of the history of the region than our own limited knowledge permits us to see. That understanding leads him to believe that parts of Ukraine are rightfully Russian. Finally, he outlines the specific circumstances regarding the Obama/ Nuland manipulations in Ukraine during 2014– that he blames on the CIA– that led to the disaster that has unfolded there.
Putin is a cagey, engaging interviewee. But he is also a fairly considerable figure:
Wow. I watched the whole interview. Didn’t do a word count but I’d guess Putin did 99% of the talking, without cue cards or a teleprompter. He was erudite and didn’t hesitate or bumble his answers Joe Biden couldn’t go 3 minutes at the Super Bowl. What a contrast in leaders.
Putin is shrewd and understands the US better than Bide He has an incredible grasp of world history. I gained the impression that he is someone who we could negotiate with in good faith.
I visited Russia several years ago. It is a beautiful country with friendly people. It has somewhat checkered past but ( and please don’t misunderstand this ) so does the US.
I agree with your overall assessment, Fred. I disagree with his assessment of what our relationship should be with China. But otherwise, his presentation was pretty impressive. The people in Europe often have a much more highly developed understanding of history than we do, by the way.