Putin initiated a new round of peace negotiations with Ukraine, which will take place on 15 May in Istanbul.
Zelensky has already put the ball in Putin's court. He said he would come personally to the Istanbul negotiations if Putin also attended.
Moscow has not responded directly to Zelensky's proposal. Kremlin spokesman Peskov does not have a clear answer.
And Trump said through his representative Kellogg that he was ready to come to negotiations personally if Putin came.
The international press is waiting for the event.
Now let's guess who will be the loser after the meeting that is to take place in Istanbul.
Version no.1. Putin does not come to Istanbul. Then Moscow is accused of hypocrisy and unwillingness to reach a peace agreement.
Version no. 2. Putin arrives for negotiations. Good, and then what could he propose to the Ukrainian side? Capitulation? No. whew. Because he didn't beat her on the battlefield. Territorial concessions? The answer is known: Kiev is demanding the withdrawal of Russian troops from the territory of Ukraine, including Crimea. Putin refuses, and the diplomatic gridlock continues.
Version no. 3. (Improbable). Putin gives up everything and recognizes the territorial integrity of Ukraine. Then it would violate the Constitution of its own country, because Crimea plus four other regions of Ukraine, Donetsk, Lugansk, Herson, Zaporozhie are already formally part of the Russian legal structure. In this case he becomes a criminal in relation to the legislation of his own country.
And now the cherry on top. Trump's special envoy Kellogg also said in the context of the forthcoming negotiations that unless significant progress is made in the negotiation process, new US sanctions against Russia will follow, which will be “significant” and “extremely tough”. Source: official news portal from Moscow RIA Novosti.
But that’s not all. The same Kellogg also said that in the context of the negotiations, the possibility of deploying peacekeeping forces in Ukraine in territories right of the Dnieper, consisting of soldiers from Great Britain, France, Germany and Poland, which will be, will be discussed.
In other words, the US is imposing on Russia the acceptance of the military presence of NATO countries in Ukraine, and the Kremlin has repeatedly argued that such a thing would be unacceptable. It is true that the Americans want to send their European vassals, preferring not to bloody their own hands.
The hard task is for Kremlin propagandists to justify a new and imminent diplomatic catastrophe for Putin.
And what about the illusion so dear to Putin's advocates that there is a Trump-Putin tandem, oriented against Zelensky and European countries?
