Zelensky proposes direct peace talks to Putin
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has proposed direct, face-to-face talks to end the war to Russian President Vladimir Putin. In an open letter published online he said that the meeting should take place in a neutral third country such as Switzerland, for example. President Putin has said he would agree to a deal based on his talks with US President Donald Trump in Alaska.
A letter to Western and Russian elites
Journalist Valerii Pekar analyses the situation on Facebook:
“This letter is not addressed to Putin. Its target audiences are: 1. The Western elites, who are being told that Ukraine is ready to end the war but Russia is not, and that Russia must be helped so that it is likewise prepared to do so. 2. The Russian elites, to whom it signals that the time has come to consider how to move forwards. Ukrainian society, the population of the Russian Federation and Putin personally are not among the target audiences of this letter. It is therefore a successful combination of a military [drone attack on Saint Petersburg on 3 June] and a cognitive attack.”
Setting a trap for Moscow
It is part of Zelensky's plan that Putin will reject this offer, political analyst Viktor Shlinchak comments on Facebook:
“This letter to Moscow contains a deliberate trap. Zelensky is offering a way out, knowing full well that Putin will reject it. But this rejection can then be shown to everyone – the Russians, the Americans, the Europeans and the Global South. It can be used as proof that the problem does not lie in the formats [of the peace talks], as some believe, but rather in that Putin is fundamentally unwilling to end the war without Ukraine's defeat.”
Kremlin chief exposed as a windbag
In a Telegram post picked up by Echo, political scientist Abbas Gallyamov says Zelensky hit the nail on the head with his open letter:
“It was clear from the outset what Putin would talk about upon his arrival at the [St Petersburg Economic] Forum: he would spin tales of Russian success on the front line and in the economy. So all Zelensky had to do was to make an objective statement to the press to create a contrast. ... And that is exactly what he did – he published an open letter to Putin in which he proposed a meeting. Now everyone has the distinct impression that Zelensky must be taken seriously while Putin just talks nonsense.”