Zelensky open to talks with Russia for first time since 2022

RUSSIA / FSU POLITICS - In Brief 16 Jul 2024 by Alex Teddy
On July 15 Zelensky said that he wants Russia delegates to attend a peace summit to be held in August 2024 probably in Qatar. Qatar and Saudi Arabia have brokered prisoner exchanges and the return of Ukrainian children taken to Russia without parental permission. Zelensky said the summit should resolve energy security and other issues. This is a policy shift. There were peace talks between Ukraine and Russia in the early days of the war in 2022. These were held in Turkey. But since mid 2022 Ukraine's position was that peace talks would only begin when Russia unconditionally withdrew from all Ukrainian regions, including Crimea. The Russian Constitution states that Russia can never cede a single millimeter of its soil, and Moscow declared that 5 Ukrainian regions are Russian sovereign territory. Why has Zelensky suddenly reversed his position? It could be that the military situation is worse for him than the public believes. It could be that Ukraine is preparing for the probability that Trump becomes president again in 2025 and reduces military aid. Ukraine can then claim to have already tried talks with Russia even if talks in 2024 do not succeed. Zelensky professed himself happy to work with Trump if Trump returns.  In August 2024 there is due to be a summit in Turkey on food security. Turkey buys a lot of Ukrainian grain, and its waters are also a conduit to export Ukrainian food to the world. In September 2024 a summit will be held in Canada on prisoner exchanges and the return of Ukrainian civilians taken to Russia against their will.

Now read on...

Register to sample a report

Register
Sign-in
Forgot your password?
Copyright 2024 GlobalSource Partners. All rights reserved. This is prepared for GlobalSource Partners’ clients and may not be redistributed, reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, retransmitted or disclosed, in whole or in part, or in any form or manner, without the express written consent of GlobalSource Partners. This is distributed simultaneously to our website and other portals used by GlobalSource Partners. The information herein was obtained from various sources and is believed to be reliable but GlobalSource Partners does not warrant its completeness or accuracy. Neither GlobalSource Partners nor any Country Analyst, officer or employee accepts any liability whatsoever for any direct, indirect or consequential damages or losses rising from any use of this or its contents.