Putin’s Valdai remarks Köppel’s firsthand account

Oct 1

Reporting from Moscow’s Vnukovo Airport, Roger Köppel recounts attending the previous day’s Valdai closing session and asking Putin about Nestlé’s forced administration. He relays Putin’s explanation of reciprocal sanctions measures, his distinction between administration and expropriation and his comparison with European plans for frozen Russian money and Ukrainian reconstruction. Köppel describes Putin’s tribute to Egon Bahr, says Putin regretted never meeting him and invited Köppel to recall a Weltwoche discussion and dinner at Zurich’s Kaufleuten about peace, the postwar order and the Crimea crisis. Köppel praises Bahr’s wisdom and humor, criticizes the SPD’s treatment of his legacy and challenges Western portrayals of Putin. He repeats the company-administration qualification, relays Putin’s denial of aggressive intentions toward Europe and his conditional Kaliningrad warning, stressing that Putin did not explicitly mention nuclear weapons and also referred to other weapons. He then recounts Putin’s claims that the West sought to weaken Russia and use Ukraine against it, his peace appeal taking Russian security interests into account and his claimed negotiating willingness and near agreements in April 2022. These claims, justifications and Köppel’s political assessments remain attributed. The complete report includes Putin’s closing thanks and Köppel’s notice of Iranian interviews, presented as conversations with Professor Marandi and former ambassador Professor Safai; he describes few hopeful moments but gives no substantive positions from those interviews.

At the October 1 Valdai session, Roger Köppel asks Putin why Nestlé is subjected to forced administration despite continuing to supply food in Russia. In Köppel’s firsthand account, Putin calls the measures reciprocal responses to sanctions and distinguishes administration from expropriation. Köppel also relays Putin contrasting those measures with European plans to transfer frozen Russian state money to Ukraine for reconstruction. This records Putin’s explanation and Köppel’s account, not an independent finding about legal ownership or a newly announced takeover. Putin characterizes Russian management of foreign-owned assets as reciprocal external administration rather than confiscation and says management could be returned if relations improve. In Köppel’s Swiss-company follow-up he reiterates the general policy while explicitly not recalling the Nestlé details. His legal characterization remains attributed; no particular transfer or property return is established.