In the end, Istanbul turned out to be the summit of great absences . After Vladimir Putin's forfeit , the other leaders also gradually decided not to participate . Volodymyr Zelensky - already in Turkey for a meeting with Erdogan - responded to Moscow's move, which chose to send the hawk Vladimir Medinsky, in turn designating Defense Minister Rustem Umerov as his representative. " It proves that Moscow is not serious, the Russians are offering a low-level delegation but, out of respect for President Trump and President Erdogan, we will be in Istanbul, " Zelensky said. Who wants to show that he is willing to take "the first steps towards de-escalation and the end of the war." The Donald, who had also kept the suspense high from the Middle East, finally cuts it short: "Nothing will happen - he declares on board Air Force One - until Putin and I meet." And the long-awaited direct Moscow-Kiev talks, the first since spring 2022, will be entrusted tomorrow to the respective delegations.
The showdown between Russia and Ukraine , on the day of the negotiating teams' landing in Turkey , was peppered with a colorful exchange of insults. After Zelensky branded Medinsky's arrival as "a farce", the tough spokeswoman for the Russian Foreign Ministry, Maria Zakharova, called the Ukrainian leader "a clown, a failure, a person with unknown education" . What is certain is that the Kremlin, taken aback by Zelensky's move to transform Istanbul into the summit of a thousand and one negotiations , is now trying to build a smokescreen around the potential flop, for the use and consumption of Trump and the so-called global south, where it is constantly seeking consensus to show that Russia is not isolated, on the contrary. "We are ready to discuss and resume the course of negotiations, we are ready for possible compromises", Medinsky underlined, not by chance, who aims to spread a message of reasonableness. The United States and Türkiye will be the mediators in the negotiations and the goal, for Kiev, remains the creation of a 30-day "unconditional ceasefire". It's a hall of mirrors.
Europe sees the truce - France reiterated this at the Foreign Ministerial in Antalya - as a precondition for reaching peace, Moscow wants to discuss "everything for everything" while the US wavers, with Trump - the first supporter of the truce move - apparently "not disappointed" by the composition of the Russian delegation (although he later admitted to "knowing nothing about it"). In short, a fluid process to say the least. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, from Antalya, scaled down expectations. "We will see what happens in the coming days but we want to see progress: the president has been more than clear, the war must end and he is open to any mechanism that leads to a just and lasting peace," he said. Of course, while every effort is focused on peace, the signals to the contrary should not be ignored. CNN raised the alarm, citing two US officials. Russia, they warn, is gathering forces on the front line for "a possible new offensive" aimed at conquering more Ukrainian territory.
" Putin will try to take all the territory he can up to the outskirts of Kiev ," one of the sources claimed. If that were the case, the situation would spiral out of control again. Europe is now wondering what to do - according to British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, "what happened today is further proof that Putin is playing for time" - so as not to be left out of the game and continue to support Kiev. The line remains the one set in the Ukrainian capital as part of the mission of the leaders of Great Britain, France, Germany and Poland: punish Moscow with draconian sanctions if it evades negotiations.
(Online Union)
