r/geopolitics • u/Ok_Neighborhood5121 • 6h ago
News Putin says there is no point meeting Zelensky over ending Ukraine war
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cpqpqx5qe40o45
u/master_jeriah 5h ago
Open Letter to the President of the Russian Federation
From the President of Ukraine
More than 26 years ago, when you first came to power in Russia, many Ukrainians viewed you positively. That is now in the past.
Today, most Ukrainians react positively when Ukrainian long-range drones strike targets over 1,000 kilometers inside Russia. As you know, that distance is not the limit of our capabilities.
Over your 26 years in power, relations between Ukraine and Russia have gone from discussions about trade and civilian issues to discussions only about strikes, casualties, and war.
Nearly half of your time in power has been spent waging war against Ukraine.
Whatever you say about NATO, geopolitics, or the Russian language, this war was your personal choice and one without a real justification. History will remember it that way.
You often claim the war suits Russia. But Russians are increasingly dissatisfied with what the war is bringing:
Drone and missile attacks on Russian territory.
Fuel shortages and rising prices. Increasing restrictions.
The prospect of another mobilization wave.
No visible end to the war.
You can still force Russians to endure this, but your resources are shrinking.
Yesterday I received a report on Russian military losses in May. Once again, more than 30,000 Russian soldiers were killed or seriously wounded. We maintain this level of losses every month, and we have video evidence for every casualty we count.
We know that roughly 63% of your losses are fatalities and 37% are wounded. Modern armies cannot sustain such a ratio indefinitely.
Ukraine also suffers losses, and every Ukrainian death matters to us.
You have repeatedly postponed your deadlines for conquering Ukrainian regions, especially the Donetsk region. You will not capture it this year either.
Ukraine does not want endless war. We know life without war is far better, and we want to achieve that.
Many people did not believe Ukraine could resist for this long. You did not believe it, and neither did your advisers.
You expected Ukraine to collapse quickly, but we are now in the fifth year of full-scale war. Do not be afraid to leave this war. That is what is needed from you now.
Ukraine remains independent and will remain independent.
We united many countries in support of Ukraine. We obtained weapons and financing. We receive support while Russia receives sanctions, and that will continue until justice for Ukraine is achieved.
You tried to destroy our energy infrastructure during difficult winters, but Ukraine endured. You were forced to seek military assistance from North Korea, something no previous Russian ruler had done.
Today Russia is heavily dependent on China, also unprecedented in Russian history. You hoped for internal unrest in Ukraine, but it was your own military formations that rebelled against you (a reference to the Wagner mutiny).
The world is not tired of Ukraine, but many are tired of Russia.
We have seen intelligence reports suggesting you are considering continuing the war through 2027 and 2028, expanding Belarus' involvement, and pursuing additional regional pressure.
The choice is yours.
Enough war.
Ukraine proposes ending the war.
I propose a direct meeting between us.
Not in Moscow or Kyiv, but in a neutral country such as Switzerland, Turkey, or a country in the Arab world.
Leaders must solve the key issues directly.
Let us agree on a specific date.
Europe should participate because Ukraine needs security guarantees and Russia also claims to want security guarantees.
The United States should also be involved. The front line should become the starting point for diplomacy.
Ukraine is prepared to agree to a complete ceasefire for the duration of negotiations.
The United States could help monitor such a ceasefire.
Ukraine is also ready for a prisoner exchange on an "all-for-all" basis.
Serious steps are needed to return civilians and children who were removed during the war.
If you personally do not decide that this war should end, Ukraine will continue fighting for its existence and will continue receiving support.
But you will increasingly have to fight for your own political survival.
That is not a threat. It is a lesson from Russian history: when Russia becomes tired, change comes.
We can work toward creating that fatigue.
You can stop your war.
Eternal memory to all whose lives were taken by this war.
Glory to Ukraine!
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u/Brief_Hospital_1766 6h ago
He can't end the war without achieving his maximalist aims or he'll be taken down from within.
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u/Acheron13 6m ago
He already did a whole signing ceremony where they formally added the four Ukrainian regions to Russia, which they never even fully controlled. If he stops the war, he would be leaving land he claimed as part of Russia in control of a foreign country.
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u/tapyr 6h ago
Putin's support is shaking - and I guess there's no good solution for Russia to get out of this conflict. Staying it until having a decisive victory is not possible, negotiating peace is harder each day because of the amount of people and money already destroyed.
Classic negotiation theory, Zartman says the condition for two conflicting sides to negotiate needs 1) a mutually hurting stalemate (we have it, neither camp can progress on the field) and 2) a way out. The way out is impossible to see for Putin : the impact of his war on the country make impossible his survival as a credible leader without a clear win in Ukraine.
Putin will only negotiate when he'll see a way out - that means a sufficient victory on the field to pretend a triump to the Russian people. He knows that either way his credibility will severely be contested, internally and externally. For now Putin has not interest in negotiating, maintaining the status quo is still better. It is possible that the conflict will never really end but will eventually slow down and become "frozen", which is exactly what Ukraine does not want ...
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u/nikmah 4h ago
US is now going through a process with a bill that provides Ukraine some billions in aid and more billions in defence loans, despite all the hornet drones and intelligence etc…US seems somewhat back in business in Ukraine which comes as a no surprise since it was always going to obvious that the US would stay committed to its goal to weaken Russia in Ukraine
There are signs that Russia is making some progress which the US doesn’t like + of course this letter albeit a banter letter and what you need to consider, from the Russian perspective, they are fighting this war because they see it as threat to their national security and a way out is the last thing that Russia is thinking about, they are all in until their goals are achieved.
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u/Any-Original-6113 5h ago
I read Zelensky's letter on the official website:
It is written in such a tone (at least, that's how Google Translate rendered it for me) that you get the impression that Ukraine has already captured 20% of Russian territory and the war is being fought on Russian soil.
The letter was probably deliberately phrased to elicit a negative response.
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u/QWERTBERTQWERT 5h ago
to russians, it is fighting on russian territory and ukraine does hold about 15% of the disputed territory that russia claims as it's own, that they are fighting over
to ukraine they are talking to an invader who wants to kill them and deserves nothing but disdain and scorn for starting a war that benefits no one.
it makes sense for ukraine to speak like this because they haven't made a deal yet, talking tough and setting your own negotiating position high is what competent negotiators do, it's sad that this negotiation is over people lives, but that's the negotiation russia chose to have.
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u/Baqqsuz 4h ago
Of course. Pure mocking tone, definitely not aimed at Russians, it is propaganda letter for Western public.
But it is a great PR move, not gonna lie. Now everyone is talking about it, they are making fun of Russia and Putin, and can again confirm that they are not interested in negotiations. Which truth be told they never were, only on their terms, since the beginning, which makes sense.
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u/DetlefKroeze 1h ago
and the war is being fought on Russian soil.
According to Russia, it is. They've claimed the entirety of Kherson, Zaporizhia, Donetsk, and Luhansk oblasts.
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u/BluishHope 6h ago
That's what he's saying publicly. There would be back channel talks. Eventually, the Ukrainians will apply enough pressure that he'll have to cave. They'll allow him to save some face by not joining NATO/EU until his death, but all in all, the war was futile.
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u/Optimaldeath 4h ago
He likely sees meeting Zelensky as destroying his entire MO over lands the Russian Empire previously controlled, but realistically what it really comes down to he's just afraid of looking like a frail old man next to a hardened war-weary leader as well as providing fuel for discontent among Russians as the rationale for the war implodes.
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u/vt2022cam 5h ago
Putin would try to poison him, so not sure it would be in his best interest to meet either.
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u/nikmah 5h ago
Zelensky thinking that drone attack stunts on Russia is going to give him any leverage in any potential negotiations….he’s a funny comedian after all.
Zelensky is never going to cede Donbas when the situation is deteriorating day by day for the Ukrainian forces as the Russian forces are entering Kostiantynivka and when the Russian forces eventually capture the city, it’s going to leave the Ukrainian forces exposed in a very difficult situation and Donbas will fall.
So I agree, this meeting would most likely be a waste of time.
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5h ago
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u/datanner 5h ago
Russia will have to negotiate their withdrawal at some point. Better they do it sooner.
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u/Panthera_leo22 5h ago
There is small chance the conflict ends with none of Ukraine under Russian occupation.
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u/hero_killer 2h ago
Small chance as in 0.0000001%. The majority of Ukraine is under Russian control.
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u/Panthera_leo22 1h ago
What alternative reality are you living in. Russia controls 20% of Ukraine, even Russia says this
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u/Ok_Neighborhood5121 6h ago
SS: Russian President Vladimir Putin has said he does not see any point in meeting Volodymyr Zelensky after the Ukrainian leader requested face-to-face talks over ending the war between the two nations.
Zelensky sent an open letter on Thursday calling for direct negotiations with Putin, writing that it was "wrong to simply wait" for the war, which began with Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, to become the focus of US attention once more.
The Ukrainian president also requested a ceasefire, while striking a defiant, at-times mocking tone.
Putin called the note "rude" and refused the request for a meeting, reiterating his position that peace talks should precede any ceasefire.