“Putin is an international gangster. This is his way of running the clock. Dealing with him is a waste of time.”
Thank you, TOTAL AGREEMENT
ARTICLES OF INTEREST
1. Putin continues to peruse his international [transistria squatter policy]
https://foreignpolicy.com/2024/05/01/georgia-russia-foreign-influence-bill-protests-democracy-eu/
2. The Domino Theory Is Coming for Putin
January 29, 2025, 8:51 AM
https://foreignpolicy.com/2025/01/29/domino-theory-putin-russia-georgia-transnistria-belarus/
“For many, the daily news out of Ukraine paints a dour picture of Kyiv’s future. Russian troops continue to grind forward, sacrificing themselves by the tens of thousands for the sake of seizing more and more Ukrainian land. Dreams of a potential Ukrainian counteroffensive are long gone, with calls in the West for everything from Ukrainian neutrality to recognizing Russian sovereignty on stolen Ukrainian lands picking up steam.
These views aren’t without some merit. But they risk missing the forest of the daily news cycle for the trees of where we are—and just how battered and bloodied Russia truly is.
On the economic front, Russia has seen both soaring interest rates and galloping inflation, providing a toxic brew of stagflation, from which there’s little likelihood of escape.
On the manpower front, Russian President Vladimir Putin is so skittish of a potential new round of mobilization that he’s forced to rely on North Korean conscripts. And on the tactical front, Putin is no closer to Ukrainian collapse than he was in early 2022.
He has created for himself, as scholar Michael Kimmage described, a “nightmare,” with only disastrous choices remaining, both for Putin’s rule and for Russian strategic interesis -excerpt
4- Taking Inches in Battle, Russia Demands Miles in Talks:
Moscow thinks it’s winning in Ukraine and can play hardball diplomatically. Washington sees costly, incremental gains and an unrealistic negotiating position.
5-14-2025 11:14 a.m.
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/05/14/world/europe/russia-ukraine-ceasefire-putin-zelensky-sanctions.html
5- May join tomorrow [Thursday] Russia-Ukraine negotiations in Turkey: Trump considers joining Russia-Ukraine negotiations in Turkey, unclear if Putin will show:
President suggests Putin might not attend negotiations without him there, despite already scheduled UAE commitments
By Morgan Phillips
May 14, 2025 10:10am EDT
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/trump-travel-turkey-russia-ukraine-peace-talks
ARTICLE
ON A KNIFE EDGE Vladimir Putin will NOT attend peace talks with Ukraine in Turkey – with Donald Trump also staying away: Putin has chickened out of a rare and real opportunity for peace
The Sun
Patrick Harrington
Published: 21:59, 14 May 2025 Updated: 22:46, 14 May 2025
https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/34958820/vladimir-putin-not-attend-peace-talks-ukraine-turkey/
BACKTRACKING
Will Putin chicken out? Ukraine piles pressure to meet with Vlad to meet with Zelensky as Russia stays deathly silent on Thursday showdown.
https://www.thesun.co.uk/assets/thesun/images/teaser-sample-landscape-large.png
Zelensky had challenged Putin to meet him face-to-face to hammer out a deal, BUT PUTIN HAS CHOSEN TO DODGE THE PATH TO PEACE ONCE AGAIN.
Shortly after it was established Putin was staying away, a US official confirmed that Trump would not be attending either - after previously hinting he might.
It’s not clear whether Zelensky will still go to Istanbul.
Trump first toyed with a detour from his blockbuster Middle East tour to Istanbul on Monday, when he said: “I was thinking of flying over.
“I don’t know where I am going be on Thursday. There’s a possibility there I guess if I think things can happen.”
Speaking on Air Force One on Wednesday, Trump said: “[Putin] would like me to be there, and that’s a possibility.
“I don’t know that he would be there if I’m not there. We’re going to find out.”
Trump previously said he would send Secretary of State Marco Rubio and senior envoys Steve Witkoff and Keith Kellogg.
Russia too is still sending a troop of heavyweights - including a presidential advisor, top diplomat, and senior military and intelligence officials - but Putin’s absence is significant.
Turning up would have been an indication that he is taking the peace process seriously - and a meeting of all three leaders would have been momentous.
Putin’s absence will fuel the belief that he is not actually interested in ending the war - as Zelensky has said many times.
Even on Wednesday afternoon, Russian officials declined to reveal whether Putin was on the bill - then made the disheartening revelation at the eleventh hour.
The Russian swerved the meeting despite his Brazilian counterpart and acquaintance President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva urging him to go.
Lula was in Moscow last week for Putin’s thunderous Victory Day parade, and phoned Putin on Wednesday evening telling him to meet Zelensky.
The direct talks between Russia and Ukraine “without any preconditions” were first suggested by Putin himself.
Assuming the plan goes ahead, it will mark the first time the two countries have directly negotiated since March 2022 - a month after Russian tanks rolled into Ukraine.
The teams will meet in the wake of a stern, unified warning to Putin from world leaders to sign a 30-day ceasefire agreement or face crippling sanctions.
The premiers of the leaders of France, Germany, the UK and Poland gathered in Ukraine on Saturday to throw their weight behind the call.
Zelensky on Wednesday urged the West to crank up sanctions on Russia if Putin did not attend the talks.
