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 Valdai on October 1, Putin pays tribute to Egon Bahr. Köppel says Putin regretted never meeting him and invited Köppel to recount Bahr’s Weltwoche-hosted discussion in Zurich. Köppel describes Bahr’s bridge-building approach and says he and Putin agreed Germany needed renewed attention to that legacy. His criticism of the SPD and Western portrayals of Putin remains attributed commentary. The tribute and connected exchange are distinct from the earlier Zurich appearance. The full original exchange preserves Köppel’s portrait of Bahr as a practical bridge-builder opposed to moral imperialism. Putin says his own opinion rests on archival documents, acknowledges never having known Bahr personally and adds his claim that Europeans seek to finish off a Russian empire that no longer exists. These are the speakers’ assessments, not an adopted bilateral proposal.