Posted on 05/15/2025 5:05:58 AM PDT by marcusmaximus
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky arrived in Turkey on Thursday to underscore his commitment to ending the war, as his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin stayed away, sending a junior delegation instead.
Zelensky, who is slated to meet Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in capital Ankara, wasn’t expected to meet with the Russian negotiating team that separately arrived in Istanbul on Thursday morning.
But a meeting between lower-level Ukrainian negotiators and the Russians remains possible, perhaps as early as Thursday afternoon. No time for that encounter has been set so far. Senior U.S. negotiators are also scheduled to travel to Istanbul on Thursday evening and Friday.
The level of the Russian delegation appears to be that of “theater props,” Zelensky said as he disembarked from his presidential plane in Ankara. He said he will make “important decisions” on whether Ukraine will engage with the Russian negotiators after the summit with Erdogan. “We must understand what is the seniority of the Russian delegation and what mandate it has, and whether they are able to decide on anything. We all know who makes the decisions in Russia.”
(Excerpt) Read more at msn.com ...
Hilarious! 😄
I have been following the struggles of groups fighting for freedom since the early 1970’s. Around the time of the Iran Contra Era.
Technology has made my approach different, but my intent has remained the same.
I did not plan this to happen, but I accept one that did.
I’ve known a lot of interesting people because of my interests. Technology is one of those elements.
Zelensky and his supporters in the EU and the US have been living a in their own little self created media bubble of irrational unreality.
They are getting high on their own supply both figuratively and literally if recent photos of Macron, Merz and Starmer are taken into account. Is it even possible that this war is being driven and fuled by a group of coke heads who are too high to even realize where their actions are taking the world and where this is heading?
It's probably not very realistic to expect Putin to show up in Turkey when Zelenskyy just tried to assassinate Putin and other world leaders with drone strike on Moscow's 80 year anniversary of the end of WWII.
The representatives the Russia are sending to this meeting is sending a message in and of itself and this message is either being missed, ignored or suppressed by the media.
Putin has sent one of his close personal aides and his Defense Minister to Turkey to engage with Zelensky, not his Diplomats ( or what passes for diplomats where Russia is concerned)
My take - the Russians are through with talks.
The EU and American politicians who have been supporting Zelensky along with the New York Times, their paper of record, have been bragging about how they are negotiating in bad faith to stall the Russian and out last President Trump so a new Democrat ( or Uni Party Republican) Biden II administration can open the check books and the weapons pipelines to re ignite the war.
The Russians need to end this before the EU and the US has time to rebuild and mobilize their weapons manufacturing capability and a new administration of war mongers enters the White House.
Putin's personal aide is there to send a personal message. That message will go something like this
“You reneged on the deal we agreed to three years ago and look at where it has gotten you.
These are our terms for an updated version of the agreement that you agreed to and then reneged on that reflects the circumstances that have transpired over the last three years and the reality of the dire military situation that the Ukraine faces on the ground.
The time for your grand standing, game playing and childish name calling and photo ops is over. We are not here to entertain sham negotiations, we are here to offer an ultimatum. This is our last, best and final offer to settle the war peacefully - take it or leave it. “
The Russian Defense Minister's message could be something like this -
“We have been massing the troops and weapons to force a military solution to the problem but we have been told to hold back in hopes of a negotiated solution. If you do not accept Putin's ultimatum we are going to immediately move to end this militarily” I am not optimistic of a positive outcome on this one.
The saddest thing about this situation is that I seriously doubt that Zelensky represents the wishes of the majority of the Ukrainian people but they are going to be the ones who suffer and are going to be the ones who have to live with the consequences of this war, not the war mongers driving this disaster
Nah, more like Zelensky Arrives in Turkey to Seek more attention.
Trump to skip Russia-Ukraine peace talks, calls Zelenskyy the ‘greatest salesman, maybe in history’
https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/4317113/posts
Have you and your boyfriend booked your flight to the “war torn” city of Kiev, for the festive pride parade yet? 😂
WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME PUTIN WAS SEEN IN PERSON???
GOOGLE SAYS NOV 2024.
Fascinating. Would you share the terms and URL of your Google search? Thanks in advance, because....
And don't they look bored? I'd be....https://www.newindianexpress.com/world/2025/May/15/china-says-ready-to-expand-practical-cooperation-with-russian-army Indian Express, 15 May 2025
He's only allow Ukraine representatives to out of "respect" for Trump. In other words, Zelensky isn't interested in peace.
It's to pull out of this mess and let the EU assume sole responsibility for the war.
What a Clown show.
Zelensky and Linda Graham.
It might help Zelensky get more money from Sucker EU Country Leaders,
But it won’t change outcome of the War.
I would like for the Kurds to be allowed a country. They have internal issues over views.
The Syrian Kurds are the most Western in view among the other elements. They were long forced to get along with their mixed neighbors, in order to simply survive. They were a long way from Central Government, were largely left alone. Many were not considered citizens of Syria.
I must admit, following the Kurds in N. Syria was a real education. I have lots of data that I saved as the battle eliminating ISIS proceeded. After 15 years, I no longer have access to Twitter (X), but I downloaded my data a few times and it can be viewed in my browser. But I saved a lot of troop movement and regional data. Some day, when I find a quiet time, I will review them.
Given the uneven application of "self-determination" as a political stance, there will be precious little call for a Kurdistan. I read of one such call, decades back while in Germany, but of course that flew in the face of Turkey's Ottoman empire dreams and Syria's history of Ba'ath socialism and corruption. Were the Kurds to come into a "homeland," the conflicts in the middle East would be more many-sided, I should think. Once Turkey's Erdoğan passes from the scene, things might get better and clearer.
Erdo believes he is destined to be the last Sultan.
He has openly called the Kurds, “mountain Jews”
There is some truth to that, 400,000 (sorry, might have told you before) Kurds were flown out of the mountains into Israel. They are an integral part of Israel and have scattered other places. They are great soldiers, our support soldiers loved them. It was not the same in Iraq. Our Marines set up howitzers on a couple of mountain tops overlooking Raqqa when the Kurds began their assault on ISIS Capital. Our Sig info and ground troops data from a tablet were an amazing targeting arrangement. Before they started that assault. They took the damn at Tabqa, with help from English Special forces and some of our own and some of the SDF special forces. Some were dropped in at night and they captured the damn intact. The turbines were messed with, but the damn was intact.
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