By exaggerating the wisdom of your opponent, you lose the fight before it starts, - expert on negotiations with Russia in Istanbul

negotiations in Istanbul

Political strategist Mikhail Sheitelman explained that Russia had no intention of making any progress in the negotiations, so it sent a delegation in 2022, because Putin's goal is not peace, but the return of the USSR, Politeka reports.

He wrote about this in his blog.

"By exaggerating the wisdom of your opponent, you lose the fight before it starts. I have seen this many times, they say that you underestimate your opponent, you can't underestimate. But I constantly say that overestimating your opponent, his wisdom, his intelligence, his cunning is just as dangerous as underestimating him," Mikhail Sheitelman emphasizes.

As he explains, when we exaggerate the wisdom of our opponent, we begin to prepare for a variety of options. In particular, the expert recalls, before the start of the negotiations in Istanbul, everyone discussed a million options, what Putin would do, what the delegation would be like, whether he would come himself, perhaps on the second day, or maybe not come, but announce a 30-day truce from Moscow.

Accordingly, he states, each such option requires elaboration on our part, that is, the Ukrainian and European headquarters are sitting, thinking that Putin is wise, we must be ready. But it turned out, the expert emphasizes, that this is the same Putin that we know, and his only main quality is stubbornness, so he sent the 2022 delegation to Istanbul with the same demands.

"He is a conservative and, I would say, even a retrograde, who is always trying to do one thing - rewind the clock of history. He is always trying to turn back time. Now he is trying to bring back the Soviet Union, then in 2021 he comes out with an ultimatum to NATO to immediately withdraw its troops to the NATO borders of 1997. That is, in 2021, he was looking for some non-existent 1997. And Putin's decision to send this delegation to Istanbul was dictated by exactly the same thing. He wants everything to be like in 2022, so he sent the 2022 delegation, that is, the same Mr. Nobody accompanied by Mr. Nothings," concludes Mikhail Sheitelman.

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