Experts warn Russia not ready for cease fire with Ukraine

Experts say Russia is sending mixed signals, continuing to pound Ukrainian cities amid peace talks in Istanbul.

Ukrainian officials say the two delegations have discussed the terms of a possible cease-fire, along with international security guarantees for Ukraine in exchange for Kyiv pledging neutrality.

Russian military forces are continuing to bomb Kharkiv, Kiev and other Ukrainian cities, despite a promise made by Moscow to reduce attacks on the capital.

Both delegations mentioned modest steps in the Istanbul peace talks, although no significant progress has been made.

Turkish Foreign Minister welcomed the progress in the talks. Experts say Turkey urgently wants the six-week Russian aggression against Ukraine to end because the consequences for its economy are great.

“Turkey relies on Russian energy for a large part of its imports.

It imports wheat and other agricultural products from both countries. And it suffers the consequences of rising prices in both the energy and commodity markets. Tourism is also crucial for the Turkish economy, for its foreign exchange reserves, replenishing these reserves.

“And Russian and Ukrainian tourists are an important part and they are unlikely to come or spend that much money this year, given the circumstances,” said Maxwell Hoffnam of the American Center for Progress.

Another expert told VOA that the fact that Turkey is a member of NATO means that these talks took place in a country with more “advantage” for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy.

“This is a big change from the previous negotiations that took place in Belarus, which is certainly one of Russia’s closest allies.

“So I think this is also an indication that the situation is changing somewhat and Russia no longer has a clear priority,” said Elizabeth Shackelford of the Chicago Council on Global Relations.

Ukrainian negotiators said they had put forward concrete proposals, vowing not to join NATO or any other military alliance in exchange for credible international security assurances that they would not face another Russian aggression.

Earlier this week, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken expressed skepticism about Russia’s desire for peace, saying the United States was watching what was happening on the ground in Ukraine.

“I have not seen anything to suggest that the talks are moving forward in an effective way, because we have not seen any signs of real seriousness from Russia. But if Ukraine concludes that there are signs of progress, that is fine and we support it.

“Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has offered to try to facilitate direct talks between President Zelenskiy and Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin, but the Russian president has refused direct talks.