West wants to push Putin to withdraw, intends to involve China – Feigin

This was stated by the Russian opposition leader Mark Feigin on Espreso.

"He is necessary – I am referring to Xi Jinping, because he is the only pressure point on Putin himself as a negotiating element. Beijing will acquire a seat at the negotiating table concerning the Eastern European conflict and must ensure maximum pressure on Moscow to concede," he stated.

In his opinion, achieving this would not be possible until after the Armed Forces' counteroffensive.

"They will adopt tactics in which a successful counteroffensive must first lead to peace, with Moscow recognizing that, as a result of this counteroffensive, for instance, 18% of the occupied territory will become 10%. If the situation at the front becomes perilous, there will be no alternative but to resort to this. This means that there will be several stages, beginning with February 24, 2022, to establish a position, followed by a retreat from Donbas and Crimea, and some form of demilitarization," Feigin believes.

The oppositionist is of the view that Beijing could support such a plan, which might not be a hundred percent foolproof, but all things being equal, it could kick off some sort of process in which Moscow should begin to withdraw its troops.

"It's not that they are chasing after Moscow, as the counteroffensive will result in a certain delay, but negotiations will not progress without this step, this action, this precondition - this is critical. This is the stance of Kyiv, Washington, and most of Ukraine's European allies: Moscow must initiate the withdrawal. If it begins, as it did with Kherson on the western bank of the Dnipro, for instance, you retreat, and it is not frightening or painful; you merely relocate to the other side, and now, please move to the Donbas - Russia border. That is, without this step, nothing will happen. I think that this is the critical point of the negotiations - for Xi Jinping to convince Putin that this process must begin with this precondition," he concluded.