The writer is a columnist at Le Monde and fellow of the Robert Bosch Academy in Berlin
Three days before Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, in a fateful televised meeting of the Kremlin Security Council, former president Dmitry Medvedev assured Vladimir Putin that there was nothing to fear from the west’s reaction.
“We know what will happen,” he said. There would be pressure and sanctions. “But after a while, the tension will subside. Sooner or later, they will get tired and will themselves ask us to resume discussions and talks on all issues of ensuring strategic security. Let’s face it, Russia means a lot more than Ukraine for our friends in the United States and the [EU].”
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