Political scientist Mark Galeotti suggests that Russian dictator Vladimir Putin may indeed be considering some kind of deal with Ukraine or the United States amid peace talks to end the war.
Points of attention
- The involvement of key figures like Yuri Ushakov, Sergey Naryshkin, and Kirill Dmitriev in the negotiation team signals a significant step towards potential peace negotiations.
- While the timing and success of the talks remain uncertain, early signals suggest that Putin is taking a more serious approach to the peace talks than anticipated.
What to expect from Putin
According to an expert who is an expert on Russia, given the dictator's management style — more tactical than strategic — he is quite possibly currently analyzing available options.
Mark Galeotti also warns that the choice of the format of the negotiations, their venue, and participants can tell a lot about Putin's true intentions.
According to Bloomberg, official Moscow is currently forming a "heavyweight team" of experienced negotiators. What is important to understand is that this is an extremely important signal.
This team will most likely include:
the dictator's assistant Yuri Ushakov,
Director of the Foreign Intelligence Service Sergey Naryshkin,
financier Kirill Dmitriev, who will play an unofficial role.
It is too early to say when or if the talks will take place, let alone their possible success. However, the first signals indicate that this time Putin is approaching them much more seriously than one might have expected, the political scientist notes.
