Western official encouraged by resignation of Russian envoy

LONDON (Reuters) – The resignation of Kremlin special envoy Anatoly Chubais over the invasion of Ukraine is encouraging but is unlikely to shake Russian President Vladimir Putin’s firm grip on power, a Western official said on Wednesday.

The official said that the resignation of Chubais, the architect of Russia’s post-Soviet economic reforms who once served as former President Boris Yeltsin’s chief of staff, was a “significant statement” but added he was “relatively high up on the list” of people who might make such a step.

“I think it’s encouraging that there are senior members of the Russian political class that are doing such things, but it doesn’t lead me to a conclusion that this is in any way undermining the security of Putin and his regime, given the iron grip that he holds together with those at the centre of his power,” the official said, on condition of anonymity.

“But nonetheless, I think it is an encouraging statement that such a figure would make this move.”

(Reporting by Alistair Smout. Editing by Andrew MacAskill)