Putin has no interest in peace
It was Groundhog Day in Istanbul's Ciragan Palace. On one side of the grand conference room sat a long row of slab-faced young Russian apparatchiks, their faces unknown to all but the most dedicated Kremlinologists. On the other, a rather more high-powered and macho group of Ukrainians, many in Nato-regulation military fatigues, filed in to waste another day of their time. During Monday's hour-long session no substantial issues were discussed, no talking points were even touched upon, no path to peace was opened.
Despite high hopes, the Istanbul peace process seems, so far, to be stillborn. Even after weeks and months of high-level diplomacy by Donald Trump and his envoys, neither Russia nor Ukraine have shifted their hard-line positions.
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