Expert: Zelensky Made A Strong Move

The Kremlin has been presented with a difficult choice.

Moscow is seeking to put Kiev before a difficult choice: abandon the talks in Turkey and look like an unacceptable party in Washington's eyes, or give in, risking increased pressure from the Kremlin.

Putin is trying to form a favorable picture for himself in the eyes of US President Donald Trump. But Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky also made a strong move in response, inviting Putin for a private meeting, thereby putting the Kremlin in an unfavorable light.

About this said the head of the Ukrainian Minority Rights Monitoring Group and member of the expert council of the Center for Civil Liberties Vyacheslav Likhachev.

"I have the impression that Putin is summoning Ukraine to these talks [in Istanbul], having put Kiev before the fact that here we are on our way. This is done in order to put Ukraine in an equally disadvantageous position: either not to come to these talks and say that Putin did not cease fire on the 12th, so we should go there. In this situation in the eyes of, for example, Trump, and Putin is now playing for Trump, it will look as if Russia is ready for negotiations, but Ukraine is not. And Trump will put pressure on Ukraine," the expert said.

The situation is also not favorable for the Ukrainian side if the delegation does go to Turkey for negotiations.

"If the Ukrainian delegation comes, it will mean a weak position from the Kremlin's point of view. Putin regards any concession as weakness, and this is a signal to him that he should continue to press on. The Ukrainian delegation at these talks, if it goes there, will be presented with maximalist demands: recognition of the occupied territories, withdrawal of the AFU from the territory that Russia currently does not control but has written into its constitution and everything else," Likhachev stressed.

Of course, Ukraine will not agree to such conditions, and it will look as if the Ukrainian side has disrupted the peace talks. Putin wants the situation to look like that in Trump's eyes, the expert said.

- This is what Putin wants to achieve. He does not want to make him look guilty in Trump's eyes for derailing a possible agreement, because the White House chief has tools to pressure Putin. In this regard, the Kremlin dictator would like to maintain some semblance of being in a constructive process by shifting the blame for the lack of real progress onto Ukraine," Likhachev emphasized.

He also focused on how important the invitation Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky sent to Putin to personally come and meet with him in Turkey is.

- This is a strong move. Putin will certainly not go to meet with Zelensky. It's completely out of the question. What card he will throw on the table next, it's hard for me to say. But what we can be sure of, in my opinion, is that Putin will not agree to any ceasefire before the start of whatever Russian-Ukrainian meeting in Istanbul or wherever it may be. And if this meeting does take place, it will be fruitless," the expert concluded.

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