World News: Istanbul Bully Putin Skips Ukraine Cease Fire Negotiation

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Category: World News - Europe

Published on Tuesday, 13 May 2025 09:17

Written by Olivier Longhi

The possible absence of Vladimir Putin from the meeting planned in Istanbul to lay the foundations for a ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine raises questions about the outcome of the conflict before the meeting even begins.

But does the Russian president really have as much time as he imagines to allow himself to shun this meeting? By wanting to gain too much, it is very likely that Vladimir Putin will end up losing a lot. This precious commodity is time.

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By refusing to accept what the cunning president calls an ultimatum, and which is nothing more than a diplomatic meeting between himself and Volodymyr Zelensky, Vladimir Putin tends to isolate himself even more on the international scene, including from his unlikely ally, Donald Trump. The question is therefore why the Russian president is sulking, for the moment, this opportunity to go to Istanbul, to lay the foundations for a thirty-day ceasefire.

Absurd Rhetoric

Several answers emerge and the first of them is that Vladimir Putin does not want peace, at least not a peace whose contours he has not drawn or dictated the axes, a position that testifies to his posture with regard to the conflict that he has always explained to be a response to Ukraine's attitude, countries with ambitions to join NATO and the European Union.

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The second reason is that the Russian president, caught up in an absurd rhetoric that defends the idea that Ukraine is populated by Nazis, starting with Volodymyr Zelensky, does not seem inclined to meet his Ukrainian counterpart as was the case during the Minsk II Agreements. The last reason, the growing weight of the United States in the negotiations, which no longer necessarily turn in favor of Russia, is pushing Vladimir Putin to dismiss the idea of an advanced or not negotiation in favor of a ceasefire, let alone a peace treaty. However, current geopolitical developments do not leave much room for Russia's reluctance.

Russian Ogre

The coalition of the willing led by Paris and Berlin, accompanied by London and supported in an underlying way by the United States, strengthens the opposition to Russia, which has long been able to count on the disunity of Europeans.

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Now facing the wall because of the announcement of the United States' disengagement from defense in the European theatre, the powers of the Old Continent have had to take their destiny into their own hands and therefore impose themselves against the Russian ogre. Positive or negative effect, historians will say in the years to come, the position of the United States will at least have had the merit of reunifying a Europe that has broken down, at the very least, in slow motion.

The unpredictability of the Russian president, combined with the new determination of the Europeans and the desire of the United States to settle as soon as possible a conflict that is getting bogged down, gives birth to a situation that is far from being settled, even if, caution is advised, we seem to be closer to the end of the conflict than to an impossible status quo.

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Bio: Olivier Longhi has extensive experience in European history. A seasoned journalist with fifteen years of experience, he is currently a professor of history and geography in the Toulouse region of France. He has held a variety of publishing positions, including Head of Agency and Chief of Publishing. A journalist and recognized blogger, editor, and editorial project manager, he has trained and managed editorial teams, worked as a journalist for various local radio stations, was a press and publishing consultant, and was a communications consultant.