Politica 89.8
The lost opportunity for a ceasefire in Ukraine, Erdogan is the winner
How much hope is there for a ceasefire in Ukraine when before the beginning of the talks in Istanbul, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky described the delegation sent by Vladimir Putin for negotiations as “decorative” and when Moscow is quick to call him a “clown and a failure”?
By Alexia Tasouli
With the last 24 hours of us picking at the daisy about whether or not he will go to Turkey, the Russian delegation is headed by Vladimir Medinsky, an adviser to Putin – who had led the delegation that held unsuccessful peace talks with Ukraine in 2022, in the first months after the war in Ukraine began. Also attending will be Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Galuzin,
Deputy Defense Minister Alexander Fomin, diplomats and intelligence officials. That brought disappointment to the United States and is fair to say that it was a diplomatic fiasco.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova insisted that Moscow wants to “remove the roots of the crisis” and seek “lasting peace” – phrases that most analysts believe conceal the Kremlin’s well-known maximalist positions. In any case, Russia rejected the 30-day ceasefire proposal submitted by Ukraine with the support of its European allies.
It is remarkable how US Secretary of State Marco Rubio assessed that there is no “military solution” to the war in Ukraine and said that the only way to end the three-year conflict is through diplomatic means.
Washington has made it clear that it wants to see progress in peace efforts in the Ukraine talks and is willing to consider any mechanism to bring about a lasting end to the war.
“There’s a lot of work to be done. We remain committed to this path. Obviously, like everyone, we’re looking forward to it, but it’s difficult. We hope that progress will be made soon,” stressed Rubio from Antalya, Turkey, where an informal meeting of NATO Foreign Ministers is taking place, with the main topic being the preparation for the upcoming NATO Summit in The Hague.
The only winner is Tayyip Erdogan, who since the start of the war has openly claimed a mediating role, arguing that he was effectively speaking with both the West and Moscow at the same time. With surgical precision, the Turkish president managed to balance this, when other leaders expressed clear positions. He simultaneously expressed support for Ukraine’s territorial integrity, provided it with defensive aid, and also declared opposition to imposing sanctions on Russia, despite Turkey being a NATO member country. Moreover, he personally facilitated negotiations between Russia and Ukraine in March 2022.
