THUNDER BAY - Marcus Powlowski, MP for Thunder Bay - Rainy River, believes that Russia's only hope for a relationship with the west is a change in leadership and the way towards that change is to win the hearts and minds of the Russian people.
"I think the West has to do its best to show Russia that it's in its best interest to have a good relationship with the west, that Russia as part of the EU would be immensely beneficial to Russians. A peaceful Russia is in everyone's best interests," said Powlowski.
"The only one who s benefiting from this war as far as I can tell, is Putin, and he's not economically benefiting, but in terms of his hierarchy of what he finds important. I think, establishing Russia as this bear, as this feared country."
Powlowski also says that he doesn't believe that the west will ever remove its sanctions so long as Vladimir Putin remains president of Russia.
"But if there's a change of leadership, that the sanctions are removed gradually in accordance with Russia, having shown that it meets certain milestones in terms of increasing democratization, in terms of increasing recognition, support of a free press, in supporting all institutions that make for democracy," said Powlowski.
"And that Russia shows the west that it's moving in the right direction, that those sanctions will come down."
Powlowski says that the first step that the west needs to take is to show the Russian people that the west is not against Russians.
"The vast majority of Russians, I think, if they're not brainwashed by the propaganda coming out of the Kremlin, would believe that they're better off in a country with good relations with the rest of the west, a country that's part of Europe rather than fighting Europe, a part of NATO even perhaps," Powlowski said.
"I think what we ought to be doing, and hopefully are doing, is appealing to the Russians' sense that this problem certainly controls of the media, control of the press. I think the original question was 'Do you see a role of Russia having a better relationship with the West?' and I certainly do, and ultimately, I'm sure it's going to happen."
Powlowski hopes that that happens "before there's not thousands and 100-thousands, and millions of deaths."
