Russia Stands Firm in Istanbul as EU-Cabal Runs Out of Options

Russia Stands Firm in Istanbul as EU-Cabal Runs Out of Options

The long awaited Istanbul negotiations between Russia and Ukraine took place, and though I have complained of the ‘sideshow’ nature of these distractions, today’s session is worth mentioning for what it revealed about Russia’s stance. Firstly, it must be said outright that all doomers who claimed Russia was capitulating, and that Putin was again being ‘led by the nose’ toward a Minsk-3-style disaster were proven wrong. By all accounts, the Russi…

Russia in Istanbul put forward unrealistic conditions for a ceasefire: Zelensky at a meeting with Vance and RubioThe President of Ukraine said that Russia put forward unrealistic conditions for a long-term ceasefire in Istanbul. Zelensky stressed that Moscow has no intention of ending the war.

The Institute for the Study of War estimates that Russia's objective remains the full capitalisation of Ukraine. Moscow tries to present itself as open to negotiations, but raises applications which Ukraine cannot accept in a reasonable way, without offering its own commitments.