Russian President Vladimir Putin is attending peace talks in Turkiye today to discuss the Ukraine conflict. It seems, however, that he will not be showing up. This marks the initial effort towards reducing the conflict that has been persisting for almost three years internationally.
Kremlin Confirms Putin’s Absence
As per Kremel’s spokesperson Dmitry Peskov, Putin is not going to be participating in the negotiations. In his absence, a senior delegation headed by Medinskiy, who is currently serving as an Aide to the President, as well as Dmitry Sobin, will be representing the country at the negotiations.
Putin’s absence comes without any reasoning. Political analysts tend to think that it is to enhance diplomatic flexibility for Moscow while waiting to see what the other side chooses to do. Most observers consider that his absence contradicts strategies that aim to make significant headway.
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky had previously stated he was ready to meet the Russian President. Since Putin is skipping the talks, Zelensky also does not need to be there. Instead, Ukraine is represented by Kuleba, the Foreign Minister.
Delegations Arrive in Istanbul
In the absence of key officials, the delegations from Russia, Ukraine, the USA, the European Union, and the host country, Turkiye, have already convened in Istanbul to advance their diplomatic efforts. Marco Rubio, the American delegate, is also attending NATO talks in Antalya later this week, thus attending to two engagements within the country.
The Turkish president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, has publicly stated that Turkiye seeks to position itself as a mediator; therefore, it is anticipating holding a meeting with Ukrainian officials in Ankara later today. As per the Turkish foreign office, they support encouraging dialogue and seeking ceasefires through active facilitation, thus they are still pursuing those ends within the current round of talks.
Recently, former President Donald Trump remarked that he may attend the summit were President Putin shows up; however, he will be absent too. These two leaderless absences certainly raise doubts as far as negotiating potential and impact are concerned.
Peace Efforts
In the moments following the negotiations initiated last week, some hope has started to grow, encouraging observers. Even with minimal hopes set, the European Union representatives present here were saying that this meeting could lay the groundwork for future talks. While encouraging, it is still unexplainably frustrating that they are so far from the apex of the relations.
This is not a final round without Putin and Zelenskyy, but the groundwork is being laid. Even indirect dialogue matters, though.”
The conflict in Ukraine, which began after Russia’s invasion in February 2022, has resulted in extensive loss of life, displacement, and socio-economic destruction. For some time now, the world has been watching and waiting for both sides to reach a mutual agreement, with the hope that it will come sooner rather than later, due to continuous economic strain.
While the rest of the world waits and watches to see if these negotiations will bring some form of resolution or not, many are still skeptical that this war, which has profoundly impacted global peace and stability, will ever end.
