Russia and Ukraine: New attempt for peace talks without hope

Russia and Ukraine: New attempt for peace talks without hope

Since the last meeting of the Ukraine on peace negotiations, Russia has four of its five greatest drone attacks Started, more than 340 civilians killed and its wrong narrative about the unprovoked war, which it has been running for over a decade. Now Moscow wants to have talks again.

New discussion in Turkey

The Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov announced that the next round of talks between Russia and Ukraine will take place in Turkey on Monday. On Sunday, Kiev confirmed that a delegation would travel to the meeting while Russian state media reported that a Russian delegation flies to Istanbul.

exchange of requirements for an armistice

Kiev said that Russia and Ukraine had agreed in Istanbul during their last meeting last month to exchange their requirements for an armistice. While Kiev presented his plan last week, there is still no reaction from the Russian side.

The Kremlin ignores Kiev expectations

The Kremlin has so far ignored Ukraine's request to present his plan. In a contribution to Telegram, Lavrov said that the Russian delegation would present its memorandum to Ukraine at the meeting on June 2. Ukrainian President Wolodymyr Selenskyj described the failure of the Kremlin to hand over his plan, as "another Russian deception" and accused Moscow of not being interested in ending the war.

clear negotiation preparations required

"So that a meeting makes sense, the agenda must be clear and the negotiations have to be prepared well", wrote Selenskyj X on Friday after receiving the Foreign Minister of Türkiye in Kiev. He further explained that he discussed possible conditions for a second round of peace talks with the Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

expectations of the meeting and the reaction of the West

Although the Russian and Ukrainian officials agreed on a meeting on Monday, it is unlikely that this will bring this immediate results. In the past few days, statements of Russian officials clarify that Moscow adheres to his maximum demands. In a phone call with US President Donald Trump on May 19, Russian President Vladimir Putin again emphasized that the "causes" of the conflict must be removed.

claims Moscow and the reaction of Kiev

These "causes" include long-term Russian complaints about the existence of Ukraine as a sovereign state and the NATO east expansion since the end of the Cold War. Kyiv rejected these claims because their acceptance effectively had a capitulation. There is a suspicion that the talks also aim to appease Trump, who put both sides under pressure to participate in a peace process.

US sanctions and political pressure

Trump has urged Kiev to speak to Moscow, and threatened to cancel the talks and to shorten the US aid, if he gives the impression that Ukraine does not cooperate. While he threatens massive sanctions against Russia if it does not agree to his proposal for a 30-day ceasefire, he also expresses concerns that new sanctions could endanger an agreement.

military intensification on both sides

Russian armed forces have intensified their air raids to Ukraine in the past few weeks and have carried out increased soil attacks on many front areas. At the same time, Putin has ordered one of the greatest extensions of the Russian military in recent years. In the meantime, Ukraine has carried out its most ambitious simultaneous attacks on Russian military bases since the beginning of the war and destroyed several Russian fighter planes with drones.

challenging expectations and the reality of the conversations

The expectations of the talks were high, especially since it was speculated that Putin could appear after Selenskyj. When the Russian president sent a low -level delegation instead, it became clear that there was no breakthrough in sight.

The outlook on future negotiations

Although Moscow and Kiev are not particularly interested in discussions with each other and do not expect significant progress, they will likely participate to keep Trump interested.

reports of CNNS Catherine Nicholls, Jessie Yeung, Svitlana Vlasova and Billy Stockwell.