In a major escalation in the now eight-month-old Ukraine-Russia war, President Vladimir Putin has made a provocative move. He has rebuffed an offer to join peace negotiations on Thursday in Turkey. He has named a delegation to negotiate on Russia’s behalf. The hardliners The Operation team, in addition to Putin, features presidential adviser Vladimir Medinsky, deputy defence minister Alexander Fomin, intelligence director Igor Kostyukov and deputy foreign minister Mikhail Galuzin. This decision unmistakably demonstrates that a serious conversation is not likely to happen at the presidential level. It calls into serious question Russia’s sincerity when it comes to the peace process.
The exclusion of Putin speaks volumes and has set off alarm bells. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is understandably skeptical about Russia’s sincerity in negotiating for a peace. Zelenskyy had promised to do so himself if Putin were to attend the round tables. The Ukrainian leader’s remarks suggest that the refusal to engage directly may signal a lack of intent from Moscow to resolve the conflict.
We’ll touch upon the importance of Putin’s decision, whose echoes go far beyond Ukraine’s borders and are provoking responses around the world. So far the United Kingdom has been the most proactive among allies in providing public notice of tactics intended to “put pressure on Putin” in the fight. UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy will speak about collective security at an informal meeting of the North Atlantic Council—that means the foreign ministers, or equivalents—taking place in Antalya, Turkey. This follows Putin’s rejection of a 30-day ceasefire proposal.
New German chancellor Friedrich Merz is staunchly against a peace settlement imposed by Russia. He cautions against the imposition of what he terms a “dictated peace.” He underscored the need to address what he termed “militarily created facts against Ukraine’s will,” further emphasizing the prevailing tensions surrounding the conflict.
Indeed, Putin’s decision to avoid the peace table comes against a backdrop of intensifying violence in Ukraine. Recent missile attacks, allegedly ordered by Putin himself, have caused mass casualties. An overnight strike on an industrial facility in the northeast city of Sumy left three people dead. On Palm Sunday, a further attack of Russian origin took the lives of 35 civilians in Sumy. This escalation has sparked widespread fear and condemnation over Russia’s military intervention.
As this story continues to unfold, a possible peace push On Thursday, Zelenskyy was scheduled to meet with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in Ankara. This meeting may provide an opportunity for Ukraine to seek further support and diplomatic avenues amidst the heightened tensions and ongoing attacks.