Behind the Diplomatic Curtain: Kremlin Plays for Suspense as World Waits for Putin to Meet Zelensky

President Vladimir Putin has no intention of accepting the Ukrainian counterpart Volodyyr Zenskyr Zelensky Sacrifice to meet one by one in Istanbul, sources from the Russian government and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the people close to the Moscow Times.

With only a few hours for the first contact between the Russian and Ukrainian delegations in three years, the Kremlin secret that surrounds Putin’s travel plans underlines the reluctance of Moscow.

Althegh’s sources said that Putin does not see Zelensky as his equal and will only agree to know him in case of his “public capitulation”, hey, he cannot reject the challenge directly because either the leader of the president of the United States to involve his opttent.

All sources from Moscow Times spoke on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the matter.

Why Kremlin keeps Putin’s plans in secret

Zensky He threw the glove Putin on Sunday, hours after the Russian leader ignored the so -called Western of Ukraine for a high fire of 30 days and, instead, instead proposed Renewing direct conversations with Kyiv in Istanbul.

With less than 24 hours until Thursday’s conversations, Moscow has not yet confirmed who will regret Russia at the negotiating table.

On Wednesday, Putin’s foreign policy assistant Yury Ushakov said the Russian delegation plans to discuss political and technical issues.

This silence is a deliberate tactic designed to keep Kyiv and his allies On the edge and allow a change of last minute plans, said former Russian diplomat Boris Bondarev to The Moscow Times.

Russian diplomacy greatly follows the same protocols it made in the Soviet era, with all high -level conversations prepared in advance in advance.

As a result, spontaneous negotiations in the terms of the opponent, especially when Russia should maintain the advantage, are out of discussion, a government official, a current diplomat and a Kremlin source told Moscow Times.

“This is not how we do things. First, the designated negotiators make all the bases and prepare the documents. Only then the president intervenes to discuss the terms agreed in advance,” said a source.

“Our leader does not like to be pressed. That is a well -known fact,” added a former Kremlin high -rank official.

In addition, Moscow does not recognize Zensky as a legitimate negotiation partner.

Russian propaganda and Putin themselves have declared that Zensky is illegitimate, which means that Moscow can only sign a peace agreement with a new Ukrainian president or with the leadership or Parliament of Ukraine.

Russia has repeatedly tried to discredit the Ukrainian leader due to Zensky’s challenge against Russia’s invasion, which is an annoying particular for Moscow, as Moscow Moscow has done previously. reported.

While the Zensky term expired technically in 2024, Ukraine cannot hold presidential elections under martial law, which was imposed due to Russia’s large -scale invasion.

“Zensky is only suitable for signing a capitulation. Period,” said a current Russian diplomat.

Trump’s obstacle

The main obstacle that prevents Putin from publicly rebuking Zensky seems implied He can travel to Türkiye himself if Putin attends.

“Our statement on the resumption of conversations in Istanbul never mentioned the participation of our president. During the last weeks, we have intensive communication with Washington, and in recent days he has reached a high point. My colleagues are offending to find a commitment,” said the official connected to Kremlin.

“If Trump personally invited Putin, that would change everything. But Zelensky is not equal to Putin, and he doesn’t do it because talking to him face to face. After the ultimatums of Zelensky, agreeing to Bondar as as as as as.”

Even so, he pointed out that a visit from Putin to Istanbul, although it is unlikely, cannot be ruled out.

A nerve and optical game

The Kremlin is weighing several options, since it drags the suspense about whether Putin will assist.

The first would see Putin fly to Türkiye, but not to meet Zensky.

Because the Putin “tries not to recognize Zensky at all and sees it simply as a power of Washington,” he would see a Trump summit in Estanbul, according to a current Russian government official.

The former Kremlin employee became analyst Alexei Chesnakov voiced A similar opinion, to say that this strategy would allow Putin to demonstrate control and tactical flexibility.

If Putin appears, said Chesnakov, he would send a powerful sign of direct dialogue with the US. In the midst of Washington’s broader approach with Moscow. Trump, hey, is willing to access his schedule to meet Putin, doing the event significantly by default.

“In this event, Zensky loses the initiative. It will detach as hysterical and unreliable compared to a compound well,” Chesnakov argued.

If Putin jumps the trip completely, Zensky will stay empty, “looking like a message,” said Chesnakov.

“Russia has strong arguments to justify that Putin does not leave. Leaders only meet when there is a clear agenda and decisions before day. Putin’s personal participation is still a card under the sleeve that can be played to ensure better conditions later.

What does Putin really do because?

Putin’s main objective is to convince Trump that Russia is really interested in peace, so she has proposed to send a delegation to Istanbul and resume conversations from where they live in 2022, explained Alexander Gabuev, director of the Carnegie Russia Eurasia Center in Berlin.

“The Kremlin is trying to make Trump negotiate a favorable treatment for Moscow or conclude that peace is unattainable and blames kyiv and his European allies. In that way, the war in Ukraine would not appear in a Waskip. Moscow,” said Gabuev.

The problem is that Putin has not abandoned his maximalist demands of war. It still has chickens to consolidate the territorial profits of Russia, trigger the change of regime in kyiv and significantly reduce the size of the Ukraine army.

These objectives are unacceptable for Washington and Trump.

“This is where Putin’s strategy separates. He is not obtaining what he needs from Trump to achieve his domestic goals. And if diplomacy fails, he will try to obtain it on the battlefield,” Gabuev concluded.

What can ultimately sink any possibility of approaching the United States, said former diplomat Bondarev, is the deepest structural conflict between the two nations as world powers.

“More specifically, the natural confrontation between the Putin regime and the world’s world interests. Putin sees this clearly, even if the rhetoric of the United States tries to ignore it,” Bondarev said. “So, what son of the approach can we speak? The only acceptable result for Putin is Trump’s capitulation and the withdrawal of the United States in a regional power.”