Mon Sep 09 15:59:58 UTC 2024: ## Freed Russian Dissident Warns Against “Face-Saving” Exit for Putin, Urges West to End His Regime

**Paris, France** – Vladimir Kara-Murza, a prominent Russian opposition figure freed in a prisoner swap last month, has issued a stark warning to the West, urging them to prevent any “face-saving” outcome for Vladimir Putin in the war against Ukraine. Kara-Murza, who spent 25 years in a Siberian prison for his anti-government activism, believes that ending Putin’s rule is the only path to peace.

In an interview with Agence France-Presse, Kara-Murza, who was one of 16 Russians and foreign nationals released in the largest prisoner exchange since the Cold War, declared that Putin’s regime “must be defeated.” He stressed that allowing Putin any form of victory would only lead to further conflict and instability.

“It is very important that Vladimir Putin is not allowed to win the war against Ukraine,” he said, adding that a “face-saving exit” would be unacceptable. Kara-Murza, who was scheduled to meet with French President Emmanuel Macron on Monday, also criticized Western “realpolitik” in dealing with Russia, arguing that it has emboldened Putin and contributed to his current actions.

“Enough of realpolitik,” he declared. “If, God forbid, the Putin regime is allowed to present the outcome of this war as a victory and survive in power, all this means is that a year or 18 months from now we will be talking about another war, conflict or another catastrophe.”

Despite facing a lengthy sentence for his activism, Kara-Murza expressed confidence that he will be able to return to Russia, stating that the current regime will not endure. He also expressed his willingness to travel to Ukraine and meet with President Volodymyr Zelensky, advocating for bridges between Russia’s pro-democracy movement and the Ukrainian people.

“We will have to find ways of living together and of overcoming this horrendous tragedy that the Putin regime has unleashed,” he said, emphasizing that the path to peace would be long and challenging but ultimately achievable.

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