Russia and Ukraine: Peace talks without optimism
Russia and Ukraine: Peace talks without optimism
Since the last peace discussion with Ukraine, Russia has four out of five of its greatest drone attacks And killed more than 340 civilians. At the same time, it continues its false story about the unprofitable war it has been leading for over a decade. Now Moscow wants to have talks again.
planned conversations 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 will travel to the meeting while the Russian state media reported that a Russian delegation flies to Istanbul.
expectations of the peace process
The Ukrainian government said that Russia and Ukraine during their last meeting in Istanbul in the past month had agreed to exchange their conditions for an armistice. Kiev stated that he had presented his own strategy last week, while Russia has so far remained idle.
The Kremlin has so far ignored the call to Ukraine to present its plan. In a telegram post on Wednesday, Lavrov said that the Russian delegation would present its memorandum at the meeting on June 2nd.
Zelensky's criticism and expectations
The Ukrainian President Wolodymyr Selenskyj described the inactivity of the Kremlin as "another Russian deception" and accused Moscow of not wanting to end the war. He emphasized that the agenda should be clear for a sensible meeting and the negotiations would have to be prepared appropriately.
Selenskyj also said that he spoke to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan about the potential second round of peace talks. In a telegram contribution he wrote: "We have discussed a possible further meeting in Istanbul and the conditions under which Ukraine is willing to take part. We share the view that this meeting cannot be empty and without substance."
political dynamics and challenges
Although there is an agreement between Russian and Ukrainian officials, direct progress at the summit is unlikely. Statements of Russian civil servants in the past few days clearly show that Moscow adheres to his maximum demands.
after a Conversation with the US President Donald Trump on May 19, Wladimir Putin repeated his demand that “Causes” of the conflict would have to be removed. These “causes” include long -term Russian reservations, such as the existence of Ukraine as a sovereign state and the eastern expansion of NATO after the Cold War. Kyiv rejected these claims because their acceptance would equate a capitulation.
influence of Trump on the peace process
The talks on Monday could primarily aim to appease Trump, who repeatedly warned both Ukraine and Russia that there will be consequences if they do not get involved in his peace process. Trump pushed to speak to Moscow, and threatened to cancel the talks and to shorten the US aid if he realizes that Ukraine does not cooperate.
Although he threatened “massive sanctions” against Russia, if this does not agree to his 30-day caffeine, he also expressed concerns that new sanctions against Russia could endanger a deal. On Friday, Two US senators with Selenskyj in Kiev, the additional one, the additional Sanctions against Russia provides, including a 500%customs to be imported from countries that buy Russian oil, gas, uranium and other products.
military escalation and drone attacks
In the past few weeks, the Russian armed forces have intensified their air strikes to Ukraine and strengthen their floor strikes on many front lines. At the same time, Putin introduced one of the greatest extensions of the Russian military in recent years. At the weekend, Ukraine carried out its most ambitious simultaneous attacks at Russian military base since the beginning of the war and destroyed several Russian fighter planes with drones, according to a source of the Ukrainian secret service (SBU).
The Russian Ministry of Defense confirmed that Ukraine has targeted Russian airfields in five regions and described the drone attacks as "terrorist attacks". The day before, two bridges had collapsed in West Russia, with at least seven people died and dozens were injured. It is unclear whether these incidents in which trains were involved were related to each other.
outlook for future conversations
The expectations of the talks last month were high because it was the first direct meeting between Ukraine and Russia since the beginning of the comprehensive war. However, when the Russian delegation was only sent by low rank, it became clear that there would be no breakthrough. While the two sides during the meeting the l biggest prisoner exchange there was no signs for an approximation of an armistice.
For the upcoming meeting, it is expected that neither Moscow nor Kiev are particularly interested in a real dialogue and expect little progress. You will probably still give the impression of being interested in keeping Trump happy.
In addition to the information mentioned above, CNNS Catherine Nicholls, Jessie Yeung, Svitlana Vlasova and Billy Stockwell contributed to this report.
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