On Friday, Russian President Vladimir Putin met his Belarusian counterpart, Alexander Lukashenko. In this connection, he is said to have acknowledged that economic sanctions against Russia and Belarus have created problems, according to the Kremlin, which reproduced the contents of the talks.

Putin later told Lukashenko, who backed Russia in the war against Ukraine, that he believed they would eventually benefit from it.

– I’m sure we’ll get through this difficult time. In fact, I think we will gain more expertise, find more solutions to feeling self-sufficient and independent, and ultimately benefit from it – as we have done in the past, Putin told Lukashenko.

Strong contrast

This is in stark contrast to what Norwegian experts have stated in recent days. For example, professor and expert on international politics, Jo Jakobsen, recently said that there is a risk that sanctions could destroy the Russian economy and the Russian regime, and put Putin into a corner.

General and Chief of Defense Sverre Diesen said that a war in Ukraine could have major consequences for Russia’s reputation for a long time.

Dagbladet recently asked Diesen how he would rate Putin’s current state of mind.

“I have no preconditions to judge this, but I think Putin’s actions now – his misjudgment of Ukraine’s ‘resilience, capacity of their own forces’, the reaction of the West and the reaction of the Russian opposition – show that his orientation to reality is very weak,” he replied.

– Positive changes

It has been two weeks since Putin in a televised address launched the invasion of Ukraine. Since then, the Russian and Ukrainian delegations have met several times in an attempt to find a solution to the conflict.

In a conversation with Lukashenko, Putin is said to have said that there are positive changes in the talks.

– Of course, I will keep you updated on developments related to Ukraine, first and foremost the progress of the talks, which are held almost daily. There have been some positive changes that our dealer has informed me of. I will tell you all about this, said Putin to his colleague.