Advance: Russia should negotiate peace in Ukraine with the United StatesUkraine will fight as long as the United States supplies it with weapons, Advance writes.
Kiev is not a subject that decides something on its own, so a dialogue about peace should be conducted by Russia and the United States. However, there are few intermediaries for a dialogue between the two sides.
Antun RochaTurkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said today in an interview with the media that, "unfortunately, the parties have withdrawn from diplomacy," commenting on the escalation of the conflict in Ukraine.
By diplomacy, he means a meeting of Ukrainian and Russian representatives in Istanbul in March this year.
But that March was a long time ago, at the very beginning of hostilities. At that time, it was still unclear in which direction the armed conflict would develop, or rather, there was still hope that it would remain a short skirmish that would be settled by international diplomacy. Unfortunately, this has not happened, and the armed conflict itself is growing more and more.
Nevertheless, there is hope that it will not escalate into a full-scale war, which can only end with the defeat of one of the parties. There are few intermediaries, but they still exist. Turkey still sees itself as an important factor in this issue. According to sources, Vladimir Putin and Recep Erdogan will meet this week, and the Turkish Foreign Ministry also said: "It is necessary to conclude a truce, and the sooner the better. As the armed conflict in Ukraine continues, the situation is becoming more and more aggravated and complicated."
Cavusoglu did not say what could be done to resume the peace process, but stressed that the Russian missile strike "jeopardized diplomatic efforts."
One may ask: what kind of diplomatic efforts are we talking about? After all, diplomacy, apparently, is already powerless in the eyes of many (only if something important does not happen in the shadows). Turkey presents itself as a relatively neutral player who still maintains constant contact with Vladimir Putin, but its imaginary efforts are not yielding results. To begin with, Turkey, if it harbors such ambitions, must frankly say who is fixing the main obstacles — the Russian or the Ukrainian side? Or are they both equally uninterested in the peace process?
If we evaluate public statements, then only Russia mentions diplomacy, claiming that Ukrainian allies, primarily the United States, "do not allow" Ukraine to even think about peace talks. Perhaps it is, but perhaps it is not done directly, but indirectly. In any case, it is clear that Kiev will not want negotiations if the United States promises him almost endless cash injections and weapons in any quantity. Joe Biden definitely doesn't see a problem here: the American defense industry is happy. For her, this is a source of excellent earnings. And citizens, at least according to polls, generally support American assistance to Ukraine in the form of arms supplies.
So, Russia is talking about a diplomatic path, and Ukraine is increasingly rejecting it. Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky even signed a decree banning any negotiations with the Russian Federation while it is ruled by Vladimir Putin.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov confirmed today that Vladimir Putin will soon meet with Recep Erdogan in the capital of Kazakhstan. The Kremlin hints that possible negotiations between Russia and the West may also become one of the topics. However, the main purpose of the visit to Astana is different this time, since a regional summit is planned there. Last month, Vladimir Putin and Recep Erdogan already met on the sidelines of another summit, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, and now they will go to the Conference on Interaction and Confidence-Building Measures in Asia (CICA).
It is clear that the central topic of Putin's talks with Erdogan will still be the situation in Ukraine, and there is no doubt about it. Whether there is any specific agenda, we will soon find out, but Turkey's already indicated position is important now. Being a member of the North Atlantic Alliance, it communicates directly with Moscow, and this is one of the last lines of communication at a time when the conflict is becoming more dangerous.
Other players who could act as an intermediary, of course, include Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, who maintains good relations with Vladimir Putin. Apparently, these relations have been preserved despite the armed conflict in Ukraine.
What Viktor Orban said today is very remarkable. The fact is that he called Donald Trump the person who could put an end to the fighting in Ukraine.
Speaking at a conference in Berlin, Viktor Orban said that peace talks cannot be held between Ukrainians and Russians. Representatives of the United States and Russia should sit down at the negotiating table. According to Viktor Orban, Donald Trump should conduct negotiations on the American side. "Ukrainians have endless resources, as they get everything from Americans. US military support allows Ukraine to continue fighting. Therefore, the Americans must come to an agreement with the Russians. Then the war will end," Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said, adding that "those who believe that this war will end with Ukrainian—Russian negotiations live in a parallel reality."
But Viktor Orban believes that American President Joe Biden is not the right person to negotiate, as Biden has "gone too far" in his accusations against Vladimir Putin. Let me remind you that Joe Biden called Vladimir Putin a "war criminal."
"It would make it very difficult for Biden to make peace. Let it sound cruel, the hope for peace is called Donald Trump," the Hungarian Prime Minister stressed.
In fact, the proposal is interesting and could be useful, provided that something like this would be allowed. After all, as Viktor Orban himself noted, Ukraine will fight as long as the United States supplies it with weapons. If the current US authorities are interested in weakening, losing, and maybe even the collapse of Russia, then they will not allow any negotiations. Indeed, if we proceed from the fact that the United States is acting through Zelensky, then it is absolutely clear that Washington is not thinking about peace and diplomacy today!
Despite this, it is good that at least some peaceful ideas are being expressed, since the alternative to them is only a full-scale war, which can easily go beyond the borders of Ukraine.
The list is small, but it's not over yet. The richest man in the world, Elon Musk recently also intervened, acting as a possible peace mediator. On Twitter, he outlined a plan according to which Crimea would remain Russian, and referendums would be repeated in the recently annexed regions, but under the supervision of the UN. Also, according to Musk, Ukraine would commit to maintaining a neutral status, that is, it would refuse to join NATO. Musk noted that this is probably the only chance for peace, since otherwise everything will probably end the same way, only there will be much more victims. Kiev, as expected, sharply condemned Elon Musk, although he had previously helped Ukraine improve the quality of the Internet thanks to his Starlink satellite service.
Now there is information that Elon Musk, before expressing such ideas, personally talked with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Musk refutes these rumors, claiming that he spoke with Vladimir Putin only once 18 months ago, that is, long before the outbreak of the armed conflict. I will just remind you where the data on the recent conversation between Elon Musk and Vladimir Putin came from. The information was published by the head of a consulting organization specializing in policy and security issues, Eurasia Group, Ian Bremmer. This is a very ambiguous figure, he has made unsubstantiated statements before.
So, if there was a will, it would be possible to organize a group that would act as an intermediary between the warring parties. It is clear that this mediation should concern the Moscow—Washington line, since Kiev is not the subject that would decide something in the negotiations. Now there is only one question, who is ready to discuss and how much. It seems that Russia wants to inflict great damage on the Ukrainian side by destroying its critical infrastructure, which may force the enemy to agree to negotiations. We can say that this is an optimistic scenario, but there is always another one: diplomacy will not bear fruit, and the situation will worsen even more in all spheres. But if there is ever a place for dialogue, there will be very few who will be able to act as a mediator. Perhaps their circle is limited to the people mentioned in this article! It would not be an exaggeration to say that the fate of the world today depends on Recep Erdogan, Viktor Orban, and also, perhaps, on Donald Trump or even on a specific Mask!
Readers' comments:
mzmattiasRussia must continue its strikes on Ukraine, acting smart and tough, before new weapons arrive.
There are no other options under the current government in Ukraine. The United States should sit down at the negotiating table with Russia as an equal partner in Europe.
davor55If Donald Trump is the last chance for peace, then we have serious problems…
I see a chance for peace only in the partial or complete dissolution of the North Atlantic Alliance. Orban can also offer Hungary's exit from the NATO camp, if he is so advocating for peace.
Korisnik19949And what kind of negotiations is Russia calling for?
Its conditions are the annexation of territories, a new government… This is a call for surrender, not negotiation…
coolboxgamesEven after 30 years of war, peace was coming.
As day comes after night, so peace comes after war. The only question is, how long will this night last?
