Russia Ready to Negotiate, but Legitimacy of Zelensky Questioned
Russian President Vladimir Putin has agreed to negotiate with the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky. Negotiation will be done in the Kremlin, if necessary. There have been questions about the legitimacy of Zelensky as a president of Ukraine.
Meanwhile, major consultations for the creation of peace in Ukraine started on Tuesday in Saudi Arabia. The United States and Russia are in talks about the war. It is a very critical time for diplomatic efforts to put an end to the war.
Russia-Ukraine War: First Official Talks in Years
Since the Russia-Ukraine war erupted in 2022, diplomatic initiatives have not been able to make any progress. Former US President Donald Trump, who has always claimed that he would bring an end to the war if he were re-elected, made some initial steps in that direction when he took office.
As part of this initiative, the U.S. and Russia have officially initiated peace talks for the first time in years. U.S. Senator Marco Rubio and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov met in Diriyah Palace in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, to discuss potential solutions.
Ukraine Excluded from Initial Peace Talks
In spite of these talks, Ukrainian representatives were not invited to the gathering. Zelensky has already stated that Ukraine will not sign any agreement reached without them.
Meanwhile, rumors abound of a potential one-on-one encounter between Trump and Putin during the peace talks. But no date has been set. Zelensky, who is in the UAE for his Middle East visit, is also expected to join follow-up negotiations.
NATO and EU Allies Concerned Over Trump’s Approach
Trump's strategy against Russia has also raised concern among NATO and European allies. Trump has been quoted as having assured that Putin is ready to negotiate with Ukraine. He has also shown that Ukraine will not be entering NATO anytime soon. Thus, Zelensky has stated that the European Union needs to consider forming its own army to increase security. As the U.S. rethinks its support for Ukraine, EU nations are weighing their approach. The majority of European nations believe that isolating Ukraine is not the right approach and are considering increasing military support to Kyiv.
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