We cannot change Putin's thoughts, but we can change his calculations – Ex-NATO chief Stoltenberg

Former NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg has said the problem with peace for Ukraine is that you can't change Russian leader Vladimir Putin’s mind about his intentions for Ukraine, which he wants to control, but you can force him to come to the negotiating table if the price for that control is too high.

"The point (of achieving peace for Ukraine – IF-U) is that we need to not only agree among ourselves on a platform for peace in Ukraine, but also do something more difficult, which is to find a way to agree with President Putin… So the main question is whether we can agree with Putin now on peace in Ukraine. And I don’t think we can change Putin’s mind. His goal, his ambition, is to control Ukraine. There’s no doubt about that," Stoltenberg said on Thursday in Davos during a Ukrainian breakfast organized by the Victor Pinchuk Foundation on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum.

At the same time, Stoltenberg is convinced that it is possible to "change Putin's calculations, that if the price he has to pay for control over Ukraine is too high, then he will be forced to sit down at the negotiating table and agree on something acceptable to Ukraine." "And the only, only way to achieve this is to provide military support to Ukraine. This is the only way, because the price has to be so high that he agrees to sit down at the negotiating table and respect Ukraine as a sovereign, independent state," the former NATO Secretary General emphasized. In this regard, he welcomed the efforts of NATO allies, which "play a more important role in coordinating support."