LOS ANGELES.–Pretending that he won’t show up for a second round of peace talks in Istanbul June 2, 47-year-old President Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky played hard to get, insisting that Russia supply Ukraine in advance the memorandum outlining demands for a ceasefire. President Donald Trump has been pushing for more peace talks, getting what he wanted from 72-year-old Russian PresidentVladimir Putin. Putin irked Trump by hitting Ukraine hard with missiles and drones right after he held a two-hour phone call with Putin assuring Trump that he would make Russia available for peace talks. Trump thought that the recent drone and missile strikes insulted the peace process, especially because Putin said he would move on to peace talks. Whatever happened before is water under the bridge, Zelensky must stop playing games and agree to join Russia in Istanbul.
Ukraine doesn’t need to know the Russian position in advance of talks, they’ve already heard in dribs-and-drabs it leak out in the press. “For a meeting to be meaningful, its agenda must be clear, and the negotiations must be properly prepared,” Zelensky wrote on X. Zelensky should be thrilled that President Donald Trump got Putin to send his peace delegation back to Istanbul. Zelensky likes making disparaging comments about Putin publicly, something that hurts the peace process. “Unfortunately, Russia is doing everything it can to ensure that the next potential meeting brings no results,” Zelensky said, upset that Putin didn’t release his memorandum ahead of June 2 talks. Putin and Zelensky have their issues heading into peace talks, both making valid points. Coming to a compromise is what Trump wants both sides to work on in Istanbul.
Zelensky with European Union backing wants Putin to remove all his troops from Ukraine, including the Crimean Peninsula. Putin annexed Crime March 1, 2024 after a Feb. 22, 2014 pro-Western coup toppled the Kremlin-backed Kiev government of Viktor Yanukovych. Putin was just finishing hosting the Sochi Winter Olympics when the coup took place. He annexed Crimea to protect his Sevastopol Black Sea naval base. Ukraine could have offered Putin as 99-year lease on the territory but offered nothing. When it came to the Feb. 24, 2022 invasion, Putin gave former President Joe Biden months to discuss new security arrangements for Ukraine but Biden ignored Putin’s requests. Putin wanted Biden to stop arming Ukraine to the teeth with offensive weapons that threatened Russia. Putin warned Biden about implementing a “special military operation” if things didn’t change.
So, once Putin invaded, Zelensky opted for war with the Kremlin, with Biden supplying all the cash-and-arms needed to battle the Kremlin. Once Putin figured out that Biden funded proxy war against the Kremlin, it all but destroyed decades of diplomacy, détente, arms control and global cooperation. By the time Trump came to office, Russia was no longer a global partner but a mortal enemy. Trump has worked hard with Putin to restore normal U.S.-Russian relations, after Biden turned Moscow into its No. 1 enemy. Now, after over three years of war, Zelensky has watched his country destroyed, citizens massacred, infrastructure wrecked and sovereign land lost to the Kremlin. Trump wants to bring the war to an end to stop the bloodshed on both sides of the conflict. Zelensky has made peacemaking next to impossible for Trump, opposing his peacemaking efforts.
Zelensky, of course, is bluffing that he won’t send his delegation to the talks. Whatever Putin offers in his memorandum, Zelensky will no doubt have objections. But in any negotiation both sides won’t get everything they want but they’ll be forced to compromise. “At the moment, everyone is focused on the direct Russia-Ukraine negotiations. A list of conditions for a temporary truce is being developed,” said Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov. “We are pleased that these explanations by the president [Putin] are understood, including Washington,” Peskov said, referring to a comment by Ukraine envoy Keith Kellogg who said Russia has a valid argument about NATO encroachment on the East. Whether admitted or not, Trump is the driving force behind peace talks, working with both side but meeting the kind of resistance expected from the Ukrainian side.
Zelensky’s resistance to peace talks stems from his expectation under Biden that the war would go on indefinitely until he drove Russian forces from Ukraine. Trump figured out that may not happen in anyone’s lifetimes, instead, ending U.S. funding for the proxy war with the Kremlin. Trump wants to restore U.S.-Russian relations regardless of what happens in Istanbul. Ultimately, Putin and Zelenksy must decide what they want to do with the war. Zelensky thinks that German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has offered to fund proxy war with the Kremlin, now that Trump has sought peace between warring sides. Merz doesn’t have the backing of Brussels to promise the billions needed to keep the war going into the foreseeable future. Zelensky says he wants Merz by his side in negotiating with Putin. Zelensky must accept that no one can save Ukraine but himself.
About the Author
John M. Curtis writes politically neutral commentary analyzing spin in national and global news. He’s editor of OnlineColumnist.com and author of Dodging The Bullet and Operation Cha
