First he smiles. Garry Kasparov, chess legend and one of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s main opponents, walks onto the stage at the Swiss Economic Forum in Interlaken and jokes about his hair falling out for the first time.
After some preliminary skirmishes about artificial intelligence, the first Hitler equation follows. “The West’s misjudgment of Vladimir Putin was greater than in the 1930s,” says Kasparov. Putin has committed so many crimes and yet the West sees him as a partner.
Kasparov wears the white-blue-white flag on his lapel – the symbol of resistance to Russia’s offensive war against Ukraine. But since last year he is not only one of Putin’s opponents. On the contrary, the 60-year-old has been a critic from the very beginning. He has been writing against Putin since 2001. “It was already clear to me then that he was a major threat to democracy in Russia.” Not because he’s clairvoyant – “I’ve only been listening to him since 1999.”
Putin has repeatedly revealed his intentions. That he wants to revive the Russian Empire was anything but a secret. But there was no opposition to him, Kasparov complains. Neither in Russia nor in the West. This gave Putin more and more self-confidence. He invaded Georgia in 2008 and annexed Crimea in 2014. “Nothing has happened.”
“The world reacts too slowly”
Kasparov still accuses the West of inaction. “We see people being evacuated from Kherson. We see what is happening there,” says Kasparov – meaning the flood after the destruction of the Kachowka Dam. “The world is reacting too slowly.” Unlike Cambodia and Rwanda, where the worst genocides took place largely in secret, we being able to follow everything very closely in the Ukraine via the internet Kasparov speaks of an “unprecedented crime”.
Asked about the Confederation’s neutrality, Kasparov says, “It’s your choice as a Swiss.” But, “You can’t be neutral when absolute evil is fighting against us.” Everything that can be done to help Ukraine must be done.
Because it’s clear, “The only way to end this war is to win it.” There are no compromises, says the former world chess champion. “As long as Putin is in power, this war will not end.” What victory means is also clear to Kasparov: Ukraine must return to the borders of 1991. That is, with Crimea.
This would also affect Russia. “I hope Russia will return to the Euro-Atlantic community after losing to Ukraine. We have a chance to change Russia after the end of Putin.” Everything is open: the country could become a federal state – “or just a Chinese province”.
In the end it gets personal again. Does he feel safe – Kasparov says, “In general I don’t feel safe, but in Switzerland I do. Or should I be concerned?”
And to the subsequent, somewhat strange request to formulate a new definition of Swiss neutrality, Kasparov dryly says: “Follow the money”. He’s not smiling. (aargauerzeitung.ch)
Soource :Watson
I am Amelia James, a passionate journalist with a deep-rooted interest in current affairs. I have more than five years of experience in the media industry, working both as an author and editor for 24 Instant News. My main focus lies in international news, particularly regional conflicts and political issues around the world.
