The first attempt at real political negotiation on Russia-Ukraine war ends with no progress, at least as far as "a ceasefire" is concerned. But Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and his Ukrainian counterpart Dmytro Kuleba discussed the possibility of a face-to-face meeting between their two presidents during their meeting in Antalya Putin–Zelensky. “President Putin has never denied contacts” but the Ukrainian government “continues to replace the real problem with special effects. Putin does not refuse a meeting of presidents but all the preparatory work must be done first. Ukraine has told us that it will give us concrete answers, we are waiting”. Said Minister Lavrov.
The talks in Turkey marked the highest level negotiations between the Russian and Ukrainian governments since the beginning of the invasion, indeed a "special operation" as Lavrov absurdly reiterated, but as widely expected it ended without any concrete agreement. According to Kuleba, Lavrov "is not in a position to commit" to the opening of a new humanitarian corridor, suggesting that the Russian foreign minister does not have the power to take any decision without consulting Moscow, or rather Putin.
Looking at the big picture, Putin has effectively failed in his strategic goals of quickly capturing Kiev and forcing the Ukrainian government to capitulate. As frustrations mount, Russia's positions remain the same, with Moscow again accusing Ukraine of being the aggressor and that the attack will continue until Kiev agrees to its list of demands, including "the neutrality of Ukraine” as Lavrov reiterated in the meeting in Türkiye.
Putin unloads the blame lying on the West
Meanwhile, Putin makes an appearance to "appease" Russian spirits and, like Beijing, unloads the blame on the West. “The increase in prices of petroleum products in the United States is not related to the ban on oil imports from the Russian Federation, they deceive their population,” prices in the West “are growing, but not through our fault. This is the result of their own miscalculations. They have nothing to blame us for." The Russian president said this during a government meeting and that "global food market prices will further increase if international economic pressure on Russia continues".
