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Fellows of Salzburg Global's latest Pathways to Peace Initiative outline the recommendations on the conditions for engagement between Russia and the West

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From October 18-21, 2023, Salzburg Global Seminar hosted an off-the-record, high-level dialogue, “Bear With Us: What Is To Be Done About Russia?” to explore scenarios and questions about what to do about Russia in the mid- to long-term.

Discussions focused on what is to be done about Russia and what options exist for managing and mitigating increasing uncertainty and danger exuding from Moscow. Fellows shared insights into political, economic, and security developments within and across Russia, as well as on the dynamics of other ongoing conflicts on Europe’s periphery. Discussions also looked beyond the current war on Ukraine to other regions affected by Russian encroachment as well as other historical conflicts where lessons can be drawn. The goal is to help develop new thinking and new approaches for dealing with the intractable problem: What is to be done about Russia? 

At the end of the program, three working groups developed a number of recommendations. These recommendations do not necessarily represent consensus among participating Fellows, and many Fellows who contributed to the recommendations preferred to remain anonymous. However, a number of Fellows did wish to publicly endorse these recommendations.

This working group of Salzburg Global Fellows has outlined recommendations on the conditions for engagement between Russia and the West. The recommendations primarily focus on engagement with Russians outside of Russia. In this approach, the focus shifts to empowering and engaging with the Russian diaspora and civil society in exile, maintaining a firm stance against the authoritarian regime. This strategy is dedicated to upholding democratic values and human rights, recognizing the distinct separation between these groups and the state under Putin’s rule.

Read the working group's recommendations here.

Endorsements:

• Irina Borogan, Deputy Editor, Agentura.ru
• Jaba Devdariani, Board Member UNAG / Soliciting editor Civil.ge, UN Association of Georgia / Civil.ge
• Pavel Ivlev, Executive Director, KRES Poliskola
• Donald Jensen, Adjunct Professor, Krieger School of Arts and Sciences, Johns Hopkins University
• Alina Nychyk, Postdoctoral Researcher, Social Activist, ETH Zurich
• Candace Rondeaux, Senior Director, Future Frontlines Program, New America
• Andrei Soldatov, Editor, Agentura.ru