Why Zelenskyy and Putin won't meet anytime soon

With his bluff about sanctions, Trump made it clear to Moscow that there would be no pain. And without pain, no negotiations can move forward. The Kremlin has two options for truly sitting down at the table:

• feel military pressure from Ukraine thanks to increased aid;
• take a hit through partners — so that trading with Russia becomes toxic and expensive.

Now let's look at India. The situation there is extremely awkward. Instead of reaching an agreement and making New Delhi understand that it is more profitable for them to keep their distance from Moscow, they simply slapped them with tariffs. And what happened?

“India has not lost interest in cheap Russian oil; state refineries have resumed purchases, and Modi will visit Xi in China for the first time in eight years. In effect, Washington has pushed India into the arms of its strategic rival.”

China, meanwhile, makes no secret of it: a Russian defeat would not suit Beijing, as all U.S. attention and resources would then shift to China.

That’s why all these “working meetings” in Istanbul or elsewhere are at most about exchanges and humanitarian issues. Locations change (Jeddah, Istanbul, Alaska), but the outcome is always the same: a pause until the next escalation.

Supporters of backroom deals may fall asleep again.

Source

About the author. Maksym Nesvitailov, international affairs expert.

The editorial board does not always share the opinions expressed by blog authors.