Portnikov on Ukraine-Russia talks in Türkiye

by Vitaly Portnikov, a well-known Ukrainian journalist, political commentator, and analyst, as well as a laureate of the Shevchenko National Prize of Ukraine

Source: Portnikov on YouTube

American and European officials convinced Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and his team to attend peace negotiations in Istanbul, emphasizing that if the Ukrainian delegation arrived in Türkiye but the Russian side was absent, it would have grave consequences for Moscow. 

Conversely, if both delegations met, there would be a chance to agree on a ceasefire along the Russia-Ukraine front. This position was notably advocated by Steve Witkoff, the special envoy of U.S. President Donald Trump to the Middle East.

Sources cited by The Washington Post highlight that Zelenskyy had even considered forbidding the Ukrainian delegation from meeting with the Russians after realizing that the Kremlin was not taking his proposal to meet Kremlin ruler Vladimir Putin seriously.

It is now clear that Putin never intended to travel to Istanbul and may have remained silent to ensure that Trump would also not attend, possibly because Putin’s plans might have included a separate meeting with his American counterpart.

However, contact with Zelenskyy was clearly not part of Putin’s plans, as he generally refuses to communicate with any representatives of the Ukrainian leadership. From Putin’s perspective, Ukrainian statehood does not even merit communication with the President of the Russian Federation.

For negotiations with Ukrainian representatives, Putin typically selects lower-ranking officials who have no decision-making authority within the Russian government hierarchy. This is why it is important for the Ukrainian delegation to attend the talks in Istanbul — to avoid criticism from Trump and his advisors for lacking a constructive approach.

Still, it would be naive to expect any serious blowback for Moscow as a result of the Istanbul negotiations. Putin could easily send a delegation similar to the group that participated in the 2022 talks in Istanbul, which did not lead to significant progress.

Continue listening.