When a Russian leader speaks to a foreign media outlet, it is usually aimed at sending a clear and specific message.
But Vladimir Putin's lengthy, wide-ranging, and often contentious interview with the mass-circulation German tabloid Bild this week was a discombobulated mishmash of conciliatory, unyielding, and sometimes disturbingly over-the-top rhetoric.
Putin apparently wants to reengage the West, but he wants to do so without making any concessions -- or even a change in tone.
On the new Power Vertical Podcast, we unpack Putin's mixed and muddled message to the West and what it portends.
Joining me are co-host Mark Galeotti, a professor at New York University, an expert on Russia's security services, and author of the blog In Moscow's Shadows; and Moscow-based foreign affairs analyst Vladimir Frolov, president of the LEFF Group and a columnist for Slon.ru.
Enjoy...
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Podcast: Putin's Muddled Message
Listen to or download the podcast above or subscribe to The Power Vertical Podcast on iTunes.