Forcing Putin to the table: Expert outlines two coercive paths to negotiations

Russia employs a deliberate strategy of contradictory statements to sow confusion in the international arena, all while steadfastly pursuing escalation of the war.

This was stated by Bohdan Popov, an expert at the United Ukraine Center.

According to him, Putin can be forced to sit at the negotiating table with genuine intentions only through two power-based approaches.

The Kremlin has no plans to negotiate, and its mixed messages are part of a deliberate tactic. The goal is to create “complete dissonance” and make it appear that no one in the world understands what is really happening inside Russia.

“This happens so often that when Peskov or some other "mouthpiece" of Putin says something, the Russian dictator later denies it himself or through someone else,” Popov noted.

Despite verbal manipulations, Russia’s actions show a single intention — to continue the war. According to the expert, recent developments confirm this: the disruption of diplomatic initiatives, military escalation, heavy missile strikes, and the removal of all "red lines".

“They want to continue the war, to continue aggression, to continue terror against the civilian population. And they show a clear desire only for that,” the analyst emphasizes.
He adds that the international community understands this, and statements by European and American officials confirm that no one believes Putin has any real intention to end the war.

Two ways to coercion

With Putin unlikely to approach talks voluntarily or in good faith, brute leverage is essential. The expert pinpointed two main directions for such pressure:

• Tightening sanctions. It is necessary not only to introduce new and stronger sanctions against Russia, but also to impose secondary sanctions on the Kremlin’s partners who help it evade restrictions.

• Arms supplies to Ukraine: This represents the second vital lever. Popov highlighted emerging momentum on this front, citing as evidence Donald Trump's recent nod to potentially selling Ukraine Tomahawk missiles.

“And then it will be much harder for Putin to dodge and derail diplomacy,” the expert concluded.