No meeting at Istambul

This comes as no surprise. Moscow has rejected the meeting in Istanbul. And yes, we expect consequences. Let me lean into the Kyiv Independent. Yes, I recommend you read it because it is filled with color, but I can’t reprint it.

So here is some of the color:

High-level meetings, especially under such difficult circumstances, are absolutely not arranged this way,” Kosachev said, pointing to the long diplomatic groundwork that preceded previous potential summits between Putin and US President Donald Trump.

Kosachev accused Zelenskyy of attempting to “shift blame” onto Russia and questioned the sincerity of the Ukrainian leader’s intentions. “Zelenskyy doesn’t need a meeting with the Russian president — not at all. In fact, he should be afraid of such a meeting,” he added.

Vladimir Dzhabarov, deputy chair of the Federation Council’s foreign affairs committee, rejected the notion entirely, saying Zelenskyy had not been invited to Istanbul in the first place.

“Who invited him to Istanbul? Does he really think our president would meet personally with someone who has blood on his hands, who betrayed the memory of the great heroism of both Ukrainians and the entire Soviet people — the heroism of his own grandfather? Who is he, that we should sit down with him at the negotiating table?” Dzhabarov said.