Putin's diplomatic snub as Trump weighs sanctions on Russia

According to Putin, the potential internal threats that could arise from meeting with the leaders of the U.S. and Ukraine would be much greater than the problems caused by Trump’s anger, commented CNN.

It adds that Putin’s decision not to fly to Turkey may have already paid off. Upon hearing that Putin was not going to have direct talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, U.S. leader Donald Trump responded by assuring that he did not expect Putin to be in Turkey since he is not flying there.

The portal emphasizes that President Zelensky now faces a "strange choice." He should stay in Turkey long enough to assure Trump that he took the meeting with Russia seriously. The visit cannot, however, be too prolonged to avoid looking like he is waiting for the Kremlin.

Zelensky must either reject the Russian initiative in Istanbul or engage in it and start a new chapter in peace talks, which have so far yielded virtually no results. A difficult decision also awaits Trump, who can no longer postpone the question of whether Russia should face consequences - noted the portal. According to CNN, the only response from the White House should be the imposition of further sanctions on Russia, as announced by French President Emmanuel Macron.

Russia sees the talks with Ukraine in Istanbul as a continuation of the peace process from 2022, declared on Thursday by Vladimir Medinsky, who heads the Russian delegation. He added that the goal of the direct talks is "to establish lasting peace" and "remove the root causes of the conflict."

For Kyiv, the conditions proposed by the Russians during the 2022 peace talks were unacceptable and would mean capitulation - assessed Reuters. The so-called Istanbul communiqué, a draft document on possible ways to end the war, envisaged Kyiv agreeing to a permanent neutral status in exchange for international security guarantees from the five permanent members of the UN Security Council (the United Kingdom, China, France, Russia, and the U.S.) and other countries including Belarus, Canada, Germany, Israel, Poland, and Turkey - recalled the agency.

Despite the failure of the talks in Istanbul in 2022, shortly after Russia’s invasion began, the Russians repeatedly emphasized that the ways to end the war are contained precisely in the so-called Istanbul communiqué. Steve Witkoff, President Donald Trump’s envoy, considered that the document from the talks in Turkey in 2022 could form the basis for a possible settlement of the conflict.

At a press meeting at the Russian consulate general in Istanbul, Medinsky limited himself to making a statement. He did not answer journalists’ questions. Earlier, Putin had already stated that Russia is proposing to the authorities in Kyiv to resume negotiations that were interrupted at the end of 2022.

Out of respect for the presidents of the U.S. and Turkey, Donald Trump and Recep Tayyip Erdogan, I am sending the Ukrainian delegation to Istanbul for talks with the Russians, though I believe that Moscow does not take the negotiations seriously - declared on Thursday in Ankara by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. The head of the Ukrainian delegation at the talks in Istanbul will be Defence Minister Rustem Umerov. As mediators, representatives of the U.S. and Turkey are to participate in the talks.

Zelensky met with Erdogan on Thursday. After the talks, the Turkish leader's office conveyed that the president declared in a conversation with Zelensky that Turkey is ready to host talks between the leaders of Russia and Ukraine "when they are ready" - reported Reuters.

The talks between Russian and Ukrainian delegations on the war will commence on Friday, stated the independent Russian portal Meduza. According to earlier announcements, the consultations were to start on Thursday.