Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is really hoping that Russian President Vladimir Putin will show his face at the talks in Istanbul on Thursday. If Putin decides to skip out on the meeting, Ukraine is making it clear to everyone that he’s not actually interested in peace. And you know what that means – the West should step up their game and provide even more military support to Kyiv.
The upcoming meeting in Istanbul will mark the first time that Ukrainian and Russian officials sit down face-to-face since the start of Moscow’s invasion back in 2022. Zelensky has been practically begging Putin to join in on the talks that he himself proposed, but guess what? Moscow just can’t seem to give a straight answer. Classic Putin move, right?
The US President, Donald Trump, has even thrown his two cents in, suggesting that both leaders should attend the meeting. He’s even contemplating making an appearance himself. Putin’s spokesperson, on the other hand, is playing it cool and refusing to spill the beans on who Russia will be sending to Istanbul. Real mysterious, huh?
Putin finally decided to offer negotiations after being pressured by Kyiv and European countries to agree to a ceasefire. But let’s be real, Russia’s response to the calls for peace has been lukewarm at best. If Putin continues to play hard to get, Ukraine is calling on the US and the rest of the world to hit Russia with more sanctions and beef up their military support for Kyiv. Time to show Putin they mean business!
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is ready to play host for the talks and is urging both sides to seize the opportunity for peace. Trump, always one to make a grand entrance, is even considering flying over for the meeting. Who knows, maybe he’ll swoop in and save the day. As for Putin, he’s all about addressing the “root causes” of the conflict – his way of justifying Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. But let’s face it, his reasons are a bit… questionable.
The last time Russian and Ukrainian officials met in Istanbul, back in March 2022, they couldn’t come to an agreement. Since then, communication between the two sides has been pretty scarce, mostly focused on humanitarian issues like swapping prisoners of war and returning fallen soldiers. Will this upcoming meeting in Istanbul finally bring an end to the conflict? Or are we in for more of the same old back-and-forth? Only time will tell.
