Vladimir Putin It will not be present today a Istanbul To meet the Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. Although the hypothesis of a face to face between the two leaders had been relaunched in recent days, it will be a Russian delegation led by Vladimir Medinsky – former Minister of Culture and already Capotiator for Moscow in the talks of 2022 – to participate in the new round of negotiations. With him, also representatives of foreign and defense ministries, in addition to General Igor Kostyukov, director of military intelligence (Gru).
Mouths sewn on the motivations of Putin’s absence. One thing is certain: the Russian president knows he is Advantage on the Militar campAnd, which counts more than the diplomatic one. But the owner of the Kremlin also knows that he cannot afford to track much: not so much for the possible reaction of Zelensky, as for the possible repercussions in relations with Washington. For the moment he takes time, but he will not be able to continue for a long time: this is certain.
The non -arrival of the Tsar, who also opened to the possibility of a direct meeting during an interview released on the night between Saturday and Sunday, represents a significant element in the framework of a negotiation which returns to taking diplomatic centrality. Sources of the Ukrainian Embassy in Türkiye have confirmed that Zelensky will still be in Ankara for an interview with the president Recep Tayyip Erdogan. His eventual presence in Istanbul remains subject to the participation of the Russian leaders.
The Ukrainian leader has however reiterated the willingness to accept “any negotiation format” to get to end of the conflictsuggesting that it will evaluate the next steps based on the level of the Russian delegation. A position shared also by United States: President Donald Trump, speaking from Doha, had declared that he did not exclude his direct participation, but only in the presence of Putin and in fact it will not be present at the summit as confirmed by officials of the US administration to the Cnn.
According to the French Foreign Minister, Jean-Noël Barrot, however, is not enough. It was necessary, he said, to prepare “devastating sanctions” capable of “putting Russia on his knees” to force it to end the war. Tensions between Paris and Moscow have returned to exacerbated, especially after the president Emmanuel Macron has once again ventilated the hypothesis of disposing French nuclear newspapers in Poland. The Kremlin reply lasts: “The proliferation of nuclear weapons in Europe will not increase safety or stability,” said the spokesman Dmitry Peskov. On the contents of the expected interviews in Istanbul, Leonid Slutesky – president of the Duma International Affairs Commission – spoke of the possibility of a total exchange of prisoners. Putin’s councilor for foreign policy, Yuri Ushakov, instead indicated that both political issues and technical issues will be at the table.
There Chinawhich has maintained a favorable position from the dialogue from the beginning, has welcomed the resumption of direct confrontation positively. From Beijing, also the Brazilian president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva He expressed support for the initiative, hoping for a negotiating role in Moscow. In recent days, Lula had met Putin and, according to diplomatic sources, would have attempted a last personal invitation: “Comrade Putin, go to Istanbul and negotiate, for the love of God”. The Brazilian president, in transit to home, landed yesterday in Moscow for a short stop at Vnukovo airport, where he had a telephone interview with the leader of the Kremlin, but no meeting was held in person.
TheVermilion.com is also on WhatsApp. Simply click here to register for the channel and always be updated (free).