Putin's Response Was Expected

Washington's position now will be decisive.

Putin's boorish response to President Vladimir Zelensky's initiative to meet in person for talks in Istanbul today was entirely expected. The appointment of Medinsky as head of the delegation is yet another demonstration of the Kremlin's desire to return to the infamous "Istanbul Protocols" of spring 2022, as I have written about on several occasions.

It appears that this has been realized in the West as well. The Wall Street Journal quotes unnamed Western diplomats as saying that the decision to send junior officials preemptively ruled out the possibility of any breakthrough. "Putin, in their view, has made it clear that he has no intention of making concessions and is still pursuing the same goals he did in 2022: the elimination of Ukraine as a sovereign state capable of defending itself," the publication writes.

And that is the plain truth. "Istanbul Protocols" contained completely unacceptable for Ukraine demands of the Russian Federation - both military and domestic political. It is worth recalling that these negotiations were conducted mostly before the Ukrainians entered Bucha and saw what the Russians had done there. After that, it became simply impossible to discuss the size of the Ukrainian army with Moscow.

What will happen today? The same WSJ claims that the Ukrainians may only meet with the Russians to discuss the implementation and monitoring of the unconditional 30-day ceasefire proposed by the Trump administration. So far, there is no indication that Putin is ready to agree to this.

It is clear that Moscow is ready to continue the war, and it needs the exercise of flying to Turkey solely to keep the U.S. involved in the negotiation process. And it is Washington's position that will now be decisive.

Leonid Nevzlin, "Facebook".

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