Istanbul 2 goes towards Russian wishes. As soon as the direct talks ended, the social sphere of reference sided either in favor of Ukraine or in favor of the Russian Federation. Below we report the first reflections extrapolated from the social sphere which implies that the Russians have taken their place in the whites on the chessboard, leaving the Ukrainians to wear black.
In fact, Russia has circumvented the ultimatums of the pro-Ukraine coalition for a ceasefire on May 12. Also read France, Germany, the United Kingdom and the United States as well as Ukraine.
Russia has imposed its own negotiation format on Istanbul. And moving the date from May 15 to 16 has changed nothing in the sense that it has not destabilized the Russian side which has seized the opportunity to declare to the press that: “Russia is seriously intent on carrying forward the peace talks”.
The attempts of the pro-Kiev coalition to break the Russian scenario by forcing Russia to negotiate with Prime Minister Volodymyr Zelensky were also ignored and Zelensky turned to the coalition by going to Albania after talks with Recep Erdogan in Ankara.
Finally, on May 16, negotiations began at a level convenient for Russia, essentially continuing Istanbul 1.0 but on worse terms for Ukraine. Thus, Russia, without ceasing military operations, resumed the Istanbul variant that was advantageous to it and demonstrated its “peaceful nature”.
Along the way, they demonstrated that negotiations can be conducted without Zelensky and completely ignoring his decree banning negotiations with Russia. Finally, one cannot fail to note the commitment to exchange 1000 prisoners both Russian and Ukrainian, which is nevertheless an outcome that everyone can say is advantageous.
Overall, the Russian social sphere says: “It’s not a bad first day at all. There are no major disadvantages (not to mention Zelensky’s tantrums), but there are several positives. This does not mean that this round of negotiations will bring peace closer, but it does show that Russian diplomacy has learned a lot since Minsk-2 and Istanbul-1. Although, of course, the situation at the front gives diplomats the opportunity to speak a completely different language.”
The war continues and the Russians are marching fast towards Dnipro.
Graziella Giangiulio
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