But otherwise showing uncharacteristic restraint putting struck priority along seemed to be restoring russias place as a Global Player as he lost his touch our title russias explosive frontiers what is proteins go on. The bottom. Up on hello and welcome to to the point it is a question to introduce our guests beginning with about amir use a coffee he is a colleague here on russian desk and he says putin wants to keep the power and make russia great again. And im very glad to have with us alexander our hes a political scientist an analyst actual izing on russia and his view as a whole this is change like the fall of the berlin wall in 1989 how explosive it will be remains to be seen. And a pleasure to have with the subpoena she is. Correspondent a german broadcaster. And she says sowing divisions supporting dictators subverting borders russia remains on the wrong side of history. So. Its seems like supporting dictators and subvert subverting borders used to come a bit easier to put in after protests over the rigged election in belarus began he waited weeks to affirm his support for the go last time armenia and azerbaijan clashed it took russia just 4 days to quell the conflict now it seems to be reluctant to stop the fighting whats going on. I would say. When it comes to. This. At the end no question for poutine who she wants to support of course its looking cool and t. Wouldnt allow a bit of a mass protest cant change regime thats what chief us all of the time and there is no wait not supporting the question of course its possible that she creates a figure like it so quote Opposition Leader and install him in bella ruse with the help of a bug on court t. V. Journalists and so on and fake news and information well thats all possible but its a 1st step. I wouldnt say that he really thought about dont confirming and not supporting the question no no idea im sort of memes you say russia wants to hold on to putin wants to hold on to power is his power actually at risk certainly his Approval Ratings appear to be quite i dont see any risks for witness power and get the power of the most normal thing for a new position religion or political in the work so that political systems are different by the rich to keep power as the same were they were a country are they so i dont think back to the question i dont think and there is fortunes for a very appropriate since then go up and down by the norio erm danger of for him last time his poll ratings were declining in 2012 he quickly revived his standings with moves like the annexation of the crimea are we seeing a different strategy now in order bird thinks 20112012 we have fair here which must purchased on the streets of moscow richer or richer there escalate the very professional over by russian authorities and crimea was 2014 for your state or. So i dont think any connection with the river urgings 2011 from her or preference to crimea up of 3 years later. Sort of the question simply is the question of whether were seeing a different strategy now well its really how russia is dealing with the conflicts in the neighborhood and all the threats do on the same the focus of her russian government is much more political so whats and go so russian publics for some reason some for some parts because the clearest shift from domestic issues for economy for medical problems which we have it in context of course on the crisis the russian government is very much busy gilpatrick syria libya belarus with many many issues on the global level and not paying much attention to the domestic issue until its anger so russian public and russian russians inside the country because i dont think the other russian president for a bit less interest than deal politics but probably more interested in the mystic issues. Alexander you know russia well from what ive read you have dined with president putin and youve also consulted for major russian firms like gazprom so you say in your Opening Statement that the Current Situation could bring about change like the fall of the berlin wall what do you mean exactly where is this change going in that the world is facing radical dramatic changes and i compare the changes will witness with the changes which we have solved 30 years ago. Think that there is nobody at all to collapse but the world is moving from one world order from the i would say when you pull out a world order which was designed as a liberal world order by the west by the United States and the European Union after the end of communism when moving now to a new stage in World History where the world will be defined by major powers not only by the west but by a very strong china. By a new russia was no strengths but also a more military mind its russia and also a strong. Movement and a force which will witness also from the cells and do you see any change in proteins way of dealing with the tensions in the neighborhood compared to how we might have handled it earlier in i just came back from the valdai club in moscow you could ask him with a question its what he delivered again this speech which he gave to the german exactly 20 years ago when he said the cold war is over. Would you do the same speech again i ask him and he said yes but in a softer way and what he confirmed is for him is the nato expansion whats the of the you mother of all the problems which. He faces with the west this is a russian view of course but the same this is a geopolitical fight which the russians have today with the west and with as the russians over nato expansion over values or many things what i wanted to say about the neighborhood i think that putin is not really afraid that the west will take advantage of the changes in kyrgyzstan in armenia there by john and bill russia way because all those countries are much better and much closer connected with russia than crane was 66 years ago bill russia is comically completely dependent on russia kyrgyzstan as well because kyrgyzstan is also a member of the euro Eurasian Club and in azerbaijan and armenia both countries also who gets weapons from russia and are canonically intertwined with was moscow and you know other very briefly your Opening Statement said russia remains on the wrong side of history what would it take to put it on the right side and is that a protein capable of delivering not what oleksandr just said makes me think about to pass to. The situation compared to what we have now if you its like the fall of the war when i think about this former time it was just a period of happiness of hope of of joy and i cant see this in this moment. The other way around i would see no nothing nothing what do we see now is is the world changes be corona virus its taking over the life the whole life and you know nothing nothing at all but. To come back to the question. Protein and russia and the right side of history would mean to stop interference in france of other countries sawing discord in other countries it too would too to do something with positive energy not just everything was such a negative energy of what i see now and thats what i mean thank you very much let us take a closer look at now at where history is taking bellicose managed to democracy is a term used to describe not only russias system but also those of key neighbors like us but many people there have had enough. Mass protests have been held for weeks and bela groups against alleged Election Fraud in the president ial election president look at Security Forces have brutally beaten down the protests and he has thrown off position politicians and demonstrators in jail but the opposition is not giving up hundreds of thousands of bellary sians continue to take to the streets calling for a general strike and demanding that lucretia incl step down Opposition Leaders. Had to leave the country for her own safety the fight for our rights in belarus now for our dignity and im sure that succeeds to know later russian president putin supports the government but is continuing to hold back as long as looking power is not truly endangered. When i made a difficult situation in belarus the relations with russia have a solid foundation. How far will putin go to maintain stability on brushless external borders. Let me whats your thinking in terms about could we see an generational change there do you think in the end will prevail perhaps not least thanks to help from put it i would divide between what they hope to see in forth a real her for if we hope to serious change our meaning the verse the man in germany or hope there for a change. But im a friend of her and it doesnt change the course of the script is like. A couple of months ago last year with mr ward or what was the earth by the best to be other president of france earlier and does appear to from the public. Little very very far im afraid of soul and the center of our what if anything might prompt to put into actively intervene how close are his relations with the question go close close relations but so we shouldnt forget that. Its not put in puppets hes doing his own policy whenever russia is too strong for him to press to what to do is press a button in the end here so what the west in my opinion. Will not survive the next presidency he will go but not today in a couple of years but before that he will change the constitution and we will see you i think some some of the power structure power power momentums in this country so he now there is putting continues to exercise restraint quit that incentivize opposition in other places kyrgyzstan for example where were already seeing tensions or kazakhstan even do you think we could see further unrest in other parts of the neighborhood i would i would say that this is pants on situation of these countries and of course there is no protein in the root who can stop people going on the streets as we saw this or see this and been a ruse and in other countries not everything turns around putin and thats thats very important to know and not to fear just because put you in doesnt lie such a mass demonstrations such call are over lucians that they shouldnt start it and i wouldnt agree that this is the scenery ally in this way i think the time off is over yes she fierce protein thats right she is afraid of nothing annexation in his country in this time and. This is not over but you cant stop. Its people thinking they want to change. And so long to change isnt done and thats why im not so pessimistic about the nose that im as you told us that to the grid degree that there is negative Public Opinion in russia about putin it has to do with the perception that hes not doing enough about domestic challenges so does it matter to russians how we handle these tensions and conflicts in the area yes and no more yes its mothers because food and preparing their close attention to their approval or urging in their arsenal remember is concerned about this approach or the going wrong and on the other hand theres no such things like free and democratic elections in russia sort of their operations in the paper the government theres no chance to remove or sort of this government through the other branch of government so even opposition or not i mean she can do what they were here like some you took but theres no chance for him to be a part of establishment of the become a bunch of wanted to go extinguishment and to change things in the country so the british and you can be angry and your government is as much as you want but you have no chance to change to change things on the legal way. Let me take us to another place in the neighborhood namely yeah the enclave of nagorno karabakh. Nato member turkey is now intervening in support of john while russia at least in the past has actually delivered weapons to both sides so whats putin really want there are simple he doesnt want to loose is there by john knows that armenia is basically part of the of russia because it is part of the Eurasian Union its part of the military union with russia and its dependent on russia but for putin its more beneficial if turkey has its influence on in the caucus with then to have nato bases under american supervision in the caucasus and therefore he doesnt want to lose by john today to 7 i was not in there is turkey actually looking to challenge russias head to moni in the region and do you think it could succeed i think. Yes yes it is possible but i think the the. In my opinions even more important thing is that up. At the talk of president is so he was for 4 full protein and to cant risk to loose at all on and on its very important to sort discord and to divide nato thats the most important thing and they they both know what they do and they both wont risk they are i wouldnt say kind of cooperation but but they depend on each other and yet thats why i think there is a certain strain off putting and maybe the reason is that the degree of the e. U. Has been accused of doing too little to push back against both turkey and. Interestingly enough russia joined forces with france and the u. S. To call for a cease fire is there perhaps even an opening here in regard to the going to car back and the tensions between a 1000000 azerbaijan for closer cooperation between europe and Russia Research would be this very recent so much im not sure how i think it will be developed its. Absurd if they agree with you putting their gun to bring the game or not theyll its true in my opinion so i have. Not the prognosis in any future developments on this topic how how close can or i should go to europe and you know im a member of the kind of a. Thank you very much elsewhere cooperation between russia and the west looks further away than ever following the short lived pledge by both sides to reset russian American Relations an array of developments have driven the 2 further apart. Ever since the successful revolution in ukraine the nation has been a thorn in the side of russias president putin in february 24th he annexed the ukrainian peninsula of crimea supported by moscow separatists in Eastern Ukraine also quickly gained ground. In syrias civil war Russian Troops are fighting alongside those of the dictator. After the conflict russia wants to establish a Permanent Military presence in syria this would give russia direct access to the mediterranean and enable it to become a major player in the middle east. Putin also wants to exert influence in the west using k. G. B. Methods for example russia allegedly tried to influence the us elections in 2016 using Cyber Attacks and spreading fake news American Secret Services suspect there is currently a russian dissin from ation campaign designed to help trump in the current president ial election. It shows the level of political culture or the absence of such i reiterate we dont interfere. Will putin succeed in destabilizing the west. Looks under her in many respects trump with his undermining of trust in that the United States and its democratic system with his criticism of multilateralism of nato in particular has really played into proteins hands would you say that is by accident or by design. Who is better for russia by the report and i think both are but for russia i mean for pushing for russia. Biden at least hopes to continue the talks on rearmament and desire moment. With trump he may create a new world order and this may be a dream in russia and he knows that for trump the big enemy is china and not russia he wants to do to make deals with russia whether biden clearly said that russia is the biggest threat for the west let me come back to the question posed at the end of that short report that was about whether putin is successfully destabilizing the west right now authorities in both the us and europe report significant evidence of russian descent from ation campaigns putins neighborhood may be increasingly explosive as weve talked about but is he nonetheless succeeding quite well in exporting instability to the United States for example i would say yes absolutely he is an expert in this and resort a very short period of time this barassi yeltsin years when information of war didnt play of all but putin revived this and. He uses this as a tool as a very effective tool to meddle in internal affairs to too small to score in not just in our neighbor countries like ukraine like like elect germany despite we are a direct neighbor but. In the u. S. And the overall goal i think is to slender democracy itself and thats a very very dangerous thing and its its more important than Everything Else i in my opinion and its. Its point and they meet together. Trunk on hootin and beach to dictate us in front of her and thats a really new challenge and to be serious talent bloody mary in view of all of that and in view of the recent attack on alex in of on the the russian opposition politician should europe be doing more to sanction putins abuses of power and his interference and if so what additional measures would work well received in. Europe and sanctions in russia since for 6 years from now for the ukraine and crimea and Eastern Ukraine earn the question is not if europe should do more but how effective is this news mara how much or how much influence the sanctions have on their behavior over us or is it possible to change their russian behavior by sanctions and the answer is not truly because we dont fear for any any substantial change in russian behavior on the euro political. Stage as a result of dissension so he can. Discussing sanction in europe and europe can impose sanctions some more russian fear him or 3 more russian citizens but the question is how how effective the sanctions will be. I think that there are some leading german politicians among them former chancellor Gerhard Schroeder have argued in recent years that its time for a german russian reset or those voices growing quieter now after the attack on me now sure they are nonexistent and the more i think. Of the problems with russia are obvious. With the europe it will say European Union with that same time we shouldnt destroy in my view what has been built between germany and russia for europe for European Security in the past 30 years and in a dramatic way that. This can disappear and i think prob