EU 'leaders' want no real end to Ukraine war

This is the way it looked in previous times when Russia and Ukraine held peace talks. Each side picked experienced negotiators and had them meet. In the most famous case when they came to agreement the UK's then Prime Minister Boris Johnson flew in and demanded that Ukraine withdraw from the agreement that could have ended the war long ago.

We have been watching the new Netflix series on Vietnam. Last night the episode was about the 'negotiations' in Paris between the US and Vietnam to end the war during the late 60's to early 70's. It was a slow process.

Each side had their negotiation team. 

In our current moment we see the big talk about possible negotiations in Turkey today between Russia and Ukraine. The actor-president Zelensky is demanding that Vladimir Putin be present - or else he won't meet. The Washington Post headline this morning read: Putin sends low-level team to Ukraine peace talks, putting outcome in doubt.

This is all just a show as the UK, France and Germany attempt to put the Z-man on the same level as Putin which is a real joke. But western corporate media is playing that card as they attempt to build up Zelensky and tear down Putin. It's all about image creation. Public relations at the highest level.

But let's be real here. In serious negotiations the way it really works is that each side sends in negotiators to put all the cards on the table and search for areas of agreement. The big boys - in this case Putin and Zelensky - don't get called in until the framework of a real agreement is constructed - if at all.

Let's just take the Vietnam war negotiations in Paris as an example. Did LBJ or Nixon and Ho Chi Minh do the negotiating in Paris? Of course not. They each had their own teams who did that exhausting work. Why should Russia be held to a different standard? Look how Trump sends Steve Witkoff these days to negotiate for the US on Gaza and Ukraine. 

As my mother used to say - what is good for the goose is good for the gander. The west always tries to one-up the stage in order to further demonize Russia. The west is losing on the battlefield in Ukraine - the US-NATO war on Russia is a complete failure so now the western media moves the 'conflict' to the negotiating table in their vain attempt to score a win.

RT reports the following this morning:

On Wednesday, the Russian president announced that the country’s delegation would be led by presidential aide Vladimir Medinsky, who played the same role during previous negotiations with Kiev in 2022. Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Galuzin, Deputy Defense Minister Aleksandr Fomin and the head of Russia’s military intelligence, Igor Kostyukov are also set to participate.

Putin last week proposed renewing the peace process that was aborted by Kiev in 2022, with Washington calling such contacts the next logical step in its attempts to mediate a truce in the Ukraine conflict.

The 2022 round produced a draft treaty, which offered Ukraine security guarantees in exchange for neutrality and accepting restrictions on its standing army. Kiev later rejected the deal in favour of continuing with warfare, backed by the West.

Militarily, Ukraine’s situation remains precarious. While its forces are still holding defensive lines in the Donbass, morale and manpower are faltering. Some positions are visibly collapsing. Yet politically, Kiev continues to act as though it holds the upper hand, buoyed by support from the so-called ‘Coalition of the Willing’ – Britain, France, and Germany. These European states have consistently obstructed any serious effort by Washington to push for a quick peace. 

Zelensky’s current strategy is transparent: appease Trump just enough to avoid backlash, but stop short of agreeing to anything that might commit Ukraine to a negotiated settlement. Even in a weakened state, Kiev shows no willingness to make meaningful concessions – or even to engage directly with Moscow.

London is reportedly sending an adviser to Istanbul to give its recommendations to Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky ahead of talks with Russia, the Guardian reported on Wednesday.

Moscow has barred Western European leaders from participating in the negotiations, accusing them of a biased approach to the conflict and trying to prolong the fighting. Nevertheless, the UK is reportedly sending Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s security adviser, Jonathan Powell, to meet with Zelensky ahead of the talks to provide “background advice” on how he should handle the meeting.

The Guardian reported that Powell’s advice is expected to focus on making sure that Zelensky does not do “anything that alienates Trump” and equip him to persuade the US president that Putin is the “obstacle to peace.”

In the end this will likely be another 'nothing burger'. The public relations antics of the west won't work except to further divide the situation which is what UK, France and Germany actually want. At this very time the EU is working overtime to increase military spending and keep the drum beat of war with Russia alive. Trump is slowly pulling away from the war even though he is still delivering weapons to the Ukraine side.

Kaja Kallas is EU's Foreign Policy Chief

It's still about the break-up of the Russian Federation so the west can grab their vast resource base. It's always been about that when it comes to western wars on Russia over the past 500 years.

Bruce