In what has the potential to be a historic moment for peace, Russia and Ukraine are set to hold their first direct talks since the war erupted in February 2022—yet both Vladimir Putin and Volodymyr Zelensky will notably skip face-to-face negotiations, dimming hopes for a swift end to the devastating conflict.
Instead, Moscow will send a delegation of seasoned technocrats, including presidential adviser Vladimir Medinsky and Deputy Defense Minister Alexander Fomin, to Istanbul on May 15.
Kremlin officials made it clear: Putin himself will not be attending, despite having proposed the talks just days earlier. On the Ukrainian side, Zelensky said he would be willing to make the journey—but only under the condition that Putin show up, a demand that went unmet.
Zelensky told the world, “The answers to all questions about this war—why it started, why it continues—are in Moscow.”
U.S. President Donald Trump, who has been vocally pushing for peace since his return to the White House earlier this year, is keeping his options open. While he did not commit to attending the talks, Trump said he could fly to Turkey “if something happened” to move the negotiations forward.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio, special envoy Steve Witkoff, and other senior officials are due to be in Istanbul on Friday to coordinate with European partners. Trump has pushed for an immediate 30-day ceasefire, calling on both sides to pause the bloodshed and pave the way for a durable peace.
Despite these diplomatic efforts, the stark realities remain. Russia insists Ukraine relinquish territory currently held by Russian forces—a demand Kyiv refuses to entertain. Zelensky’s camp insists on immediate cessation of hostilities but acknowledges that reclaiming occupied lands may only come through diplomacy. As Zelensky put it, “How the war will end depends on the world.”
This conflict, which has drained Europe’s resources and sparked a humanitarian catastrophe, is now at a critical crossroads.
Conservatives and patriots across Europe and the West have long warned that globalist powers and endless conflict serve no one’s interests but the deep state and war profiteers.
Trump’s willingness to intervene and push for a ceasefire offers a genuine alternative to the endless proxy war mentality.
His call for direct negotiations and an immediate ceasefire, paired with the understanding that Ukraine must remain sovereign without compromising its territorial integrity, reflects a common-sense, peace-first approach that stands in stark contrast to the current elite consensus.
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