As the conflict continues to rage three decades after it began, a Russian delegation led by president Volodymyr Zelenskyy and a group from Russia made their way to Turkey on Thursday for peace talks. Russia claimed on Thursday that it had taken two villages in southeast Ukraine, despite the two nations having discussions next to none. Straight before the talks started, Ukraine‘s president Zelenskyy criticized Russia‘s leader for no visiting Turkey and sending what he called a “decorative” group. As he arrived at the airport, Zelenskyy said,” We need to understand the level of the Russian delegation and what their mandate is, if they are able to make any decisions themselves,” adding that “from what we see, it looks more like a dummy.” Russia responded with a” clown” and “loser” later. Who uses the term “dummy”? A buffoon? A moron? At a regular lecture from Moscow, a spokesperson for the foreign ministry, Maria Zakharova, described a” someone with no education whatsoever.” According to the Kremlin, Vladimir Medinsky, a close ally of president Putin, may lead the Russian group, which will also contain three other senior leaders. Additionally, Putin has appointed four junior officers as “experts” for the Istanbul peace talks. In a public interview, Selenskyy had previously asked Putin to join him in person in Turkey to talk about ending the war. Zellenskyy had stated that he would go to Turkey and waited for Putin to arrive. Donald Trump, the president of the United States, continued to say he was surprised that Putin had chosen not to go the discussions. Trump had previously requested a face-to-face meeting between the two rulers, but he sounded unfazed by Putin‘s presence. Trump said to reporters at a business roundtable in Doha, Qatar,” I didn’t think it was possible for Putin to go.” According to Ukrainian leaders, Zelenskyy insists that he will sit at the table with Putin and that he will continue to be open to meetings with Putin. More quality is anticipated after Zelenskyy meets Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, but it’s still not known when and where the Ukrainian and Russian ambassadors might meet. In the days leading up to the discussions, Ukraine and its allies in Europe had demanded that Russia accept a 30-day peace without condition. Kremlin rejected the idea, rather suggesting direct negotiations between the two nations. Russian leaders have referred to Thursday’s discussions as a “restart” of the discussions that took place in Istanbul in the beginning of the 2022 conflict but quickly ended.
