'She warned that it will become increasingly difficult to "deal with Russia" the longer President Vladimir Putin's grip on power remains tight, and she accused him of suffering from growing political "senility." '<blockquote>'KYIV -- Since her release from Russian captivity last month after nearly two years, Ukrainian airwoman Nadia Savchenko has called for talks with Russia-backed separatists about the war in eastern Ukraine and further prisoner exchanges.
And to the critics who have dismissed prospects of such talks as impossible, she has a message: Try a stint behind bars.
"I have spent two years in jail for nothing," Savchenko told RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service in an interview. "Try to do the same. If you want to persuade people that you are right, try to spend time in jail."
Savchenko, 35, has raised hackles among some Ukrainian officials for saying she is willing to negotiate directly with separatist leaders in eastern Ukraine, where more than 9,300 have been killed since hostilities erupted in April 2014.
But after her experience on the frontline of the war, in Russian captivity, and visiting eastern Ukraine recently, she says such direct talks are crucial, as are conciliatory steps like an amnesty for locals who took up arms against Kyiv but did not commit serious crimes.
"If we can't make peace, then [the war] will last forever," she said. "And that has already become a burden for everyone. Everybody is fed up with that. People are tired. People want to live in peace."
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So far, Savchenko has appeared intent on building on her political capital as an outsider in Ukraine's rough-and-tumble politics, which has long been plagued by rampant corruption and cronyism.
"Our politicians still behave as if they are kings as it used to be in the Soviet Union and as it is still in Russia," she said. "I want ordinary people to see me, and therefore I will continue traveling across the country, visiting villages."
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Given the Kremlin's military seizure and annexation of Ukraine's Crimea Peninsula in March 2014 and the ensuing war in the east, Russia and Ukraine "will never be brotherly nations like before," Savchenko said.
But she voiced optimism that the two countries could become "good neighbors" given the numerous families of both Russian and Ukrainian heritage who live on both sides of the border.
"I think it is possible," Savchenko said. "I think it will be more possible when the leaders are changed. One leader cannot run the country for life. ?hat is not correct. I think fresh blood must come and reset, and that will be in Russia."
She warned that it will become increasingly difficult to "deal with Russia" the longer President Vladimir Putin's grip on power remains tight, and she accused him of suffering from growing political "senility."
But, Savchenko said, there are "people" and "movements" capable of changing political winds in Russia.
"It is very hard for them there because of the heavy pressure. But I think in the future it will be possible," she said.'
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Ukraine's Savchenko: Without Peace, The War 'Will Last Forever', June 11, 2016</blockquote>
Context<blockquote>
'..a realistic concept of what is achievable and in what time frame.' (Global peace in the 24th century)Loving Your Enemies - By Martin Luther King, Jr'..to rethink and to rebuild a culture where there are open channels between feeling and understanding..'(Towards Global Peace) - '..to help schools in Pakistan or other developing countries create their own peace curricula..'</blockquote>