The recent talks between Russia and Ukraine were overshadowed by the influence of Donald Trump, who emphasized the futility of discussions without direct engagement from Putin. The meeting, proposed as a means to mitigate ongoing war crimes and tensions, ended up highlighting Russia's lack of willingness to negotiate genuinely. Ukraine felt compelled to attend due to Trump’s insistence, despite prior denials of meetings without a ceasefire. Zelenskyy cleverly challenged Putin to attend in person, illustrating Russia as a barrier to peace, with discussions proving largely unproductive and dismissive from the Russian side.
This was, said a Ukrainian official, a theatre performance for just one audience member, reinforcing the message that Mr Putin is the obstacle to peace.
Mr Putin snubbed the meeting, leaving Ukraine to portray the Russian leader's non-attendance as disrespect for Trump.
The real significance of the Istanbul talks lay less in their substance than the messages sent by their existence and attendance list.
Moscow's approach did not appear much more diplomatic this time, as Ukraine stated that Russia voiced unacceptable things.
Collection
[
|
...
]