Russian President Vladimir Putin may be softening his hardline stance on the war in Ukraine, with Russia’s defense minister holding rare talks with his U.S. counterpart after a series of battlefield setbacks.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan – mediating between Russia and Ukraine – said on Friday that Putin appeared to be “more moderate and more open to negotiations with Ukraine” than in the past. position”.
“We are not without hope,” Erdogan said of the possibility of a negotiated end to the conflict.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Friday that Putin was open to talks “from the beginning”, adding that “nothing has changed.”
Peskov added, “If you recall, President Putin tried to start a dialogue with NATO and the United States even before the special military operation.”
At the same time, Peskov also said, “President Putin was open to negotiations when Russia and Ukraine (negotiators) almost agreed on a document, so, in this regard, nothing has changed, the Ukrainian side The position has changed… Ukrainian law now prohibits any negotiations.”
Earlier this month, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said in an interview that Russia is willing to engage with the United States or Turkey on ways to end the war, now in its eighth month, but not yet. Receive any suggestions for serious negotiations.
The biggest conflict in Europe in decades has been compared to the Cuban missile crisis of 1962, which brought the world to the brink of nuclear war and raised questions about whether Washington and Moscow should negotiate to avoid a widening conflict, including a nuclear confrontation .
“Keep Communicating”
Meanwhile, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu had a phone conversation with U.S. Pentagon chief Lloyd Austin on Friday, their first in five months.
The Russian Defense Ministry said the talks between the two defense ministers involved “international security issues, especially the situation in Ukraine.”
“Secretary of Defense Austin emphasized the importance of maintaining lines of communication in the ongoing war against Ukraine,” the Pentagon said in a statement.
It was the second conversation between Shoigu and Austin since the outbreak of the Russian-Ukrainian war on February 24, and on May 13 Austin urged an immediate ceasefire and made the same request for an open channel of communication.
By then, Russia’s invading forces had been repelled from the capital, Kyiv, but it had made steady progress in the Donbas and Kharkov regions in the east and consolidated positions in the south.
However, six months later, the Ukrainian army fought back on all fronts.
In recent weeks, Kyiv’s army – aided by Western weapons – has advanced towards the main city of the southern Kherson region (Kherson city).
Kherson, the first key city to be captured by Russian forces, will be retaken as a major victory for the Ukrainian counteroffensive, and Russian-appointed officials are trying to evacuate up to 60,000 people from the Kherson region to ensure their safety , and allowed the military to build fortifications.
Ukraine’s advance southwards follows a full-scale counterattack by Ukrainian troops in the northeastern Kharkiv region, which severely damaged Russian supply routes and logistics corridors in the Donbass.
Who controls the various regions of Ukraine?
According to the Institute of War Research, Russian troops may withdraw military personnel from the west bank of the Dnieper in response to an expected Ukrainian attack (Al Jazeera)
“Meaningful Diplomacy”
Whether the military setback forces Russia to consider possible ways to leave Ukraine remains to be seen.
U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said on Friday that Washington would consider all means to advance the diplomatic process with Russia if it saw an opportunity, but there is currently no sign that Moscow is willing to engage in meaningful talks.
“Every indication is that President Putin, far from willing to engage in meaningful diplomacy, continues to push in the opposite direction,” Blinken said at a news conference.
U.S. Secretary of State Blinken said, “If we see it moving forward in any way, we will consider and will consider all means to advance the diplomatic process, and of course, we will always keep an eye on it,” but he added that Moscow was instead on its aggression. “Double or even triple”.
Russia this week stepped up missile and drone strikes on Ukraine’s power and water infrastructure in what Ukraine and the West have described as a campaign to terrorize civilians ahead of a cold winter.
New Mariupol?
Currently, the next big battle seems to be the city of Kherson.
Analyst Mikhailo Sams said Russian troops should have withdrawn “a long time ago”, but added that he thought it unlikely that the Ukrainians would want to attack the Russian-controlled city, which still has tens of thousands of residents.
“The Ukrainians will not fight any battles for Kherson, they will not attack and destroy the city like the Russians destroyed Mariupol,” Sams said, referring to cities the Russians smashed earlier in the war.
Retired U.S. general Ben Hodges also believes that the Ukrainians might avoid “massive fighting in the city” and instead “fix these Russian troops there so they can’t escape”.
Pierre Glasser, a researcher with links to the Paris-Sorbonne University, said the Ukrainian army had to carefully weigh their actions outside the city, adding that, getting closer, “they would enter the suburbs of Kherson, which could be very difficult. Danger.”
“In terms of damage, urban warfare always results in the death of the attacker (and) risks a recurrence of the Mariupol scenario,” says Pierre Glasser.
Analysts say the commander-in-chief of the Ukrainian armed forces, Valery Zaluzhny, faces a dilemma.
“Besiege (the city), or destroy it and reduce it to rubble,” said retired French general Michel Yakovlev, adding that it would be a “terrible option”.