A former British diplomat who served in Moscow and later held senior posts in the UK government said one of the West’s main mistakes was its failure to acknowledge in time what was already evident in Vladimir Putin’s actions and rhetoric.
Asked about his first posting to Moscow in 2007, he stressed that he has left public service and is therefore expressing a personal view, though one grounded in his previous experience. The article notes that from 2010 to 2012 he headed the UK Foreign Office’s Department for Eastern Europe and Central Asia, and from 2012 to 2015 he led the national security department.
If you want to understand Mr. Putin, you have to listen to what he says. He does not always say exactly what he is going to do, but he states quite plainly what he sees as his problem.
He said the past three years have made especially clear that many people were unwilling for too long to recognize what was happening right in front of them. He added that former colleagues in government now repeat the same point he himself was making about fifteen years ago.
He described Britain’s reaction to Putin’s 2007 Munich speech as revealing, calling it one of the quickest ways to understand the Russian president’s worldview. An even greater shock, in his view, was the murder of Alexander Litvinenko, who was poisoned with polonium in central London the year before. He noted that the Russian side still denies responsibility, but said the facts speak for themselves.
The diplomat stressed that this was not the first killing of that kind, but it was the one that drew particular attention. Even so, he said, it took Britain many months to grasp what it was dealing with and respond. In the end, four Russian diplomats were expelled from London, while other countries limited themselves to condemnation and statements that such an act must not happen again.