"I will end the war in Ukraine on day one!" Trump's resolute words during his campaign are still fresh in people's minds, but now that he has passed over a hundred days in the White House, he has not fulfilled this promise.

According to The Washington Post, Trump admitted that ending the conflict between Russia and Ukraine had become a problem that kept him awake at night, and he reluctantly acknowledged that solving global problems was more difficult than he had imagined.

However, while Trump was struggling, there was a significant turn of events in the negotiation situation between Russia and Ukraine.

On the early morning of May 11, Putin held a press conference in the Kremlin and proposed that direct negotiations between Russia and Ukraine should be unconditionally resumed in Istanbul, Turkey on May 15th.

But why did Putin choose Istanbul, Turkey as the negotiation site?

This requires looking back to 2022, when the conflict between Russia and Ukraine first broke out. They held talks in Istanbul and reached a peace agreement. However, under the interference of the United States and other Western countries, Ukraine unilaterally tore up the agreement.

This time, Putin's proposal to return to Istanbul for negotiations speaks volumes.

In addition, as a NATO member state, Turkey maintains relatively balanced relations with both Russia and Ukraine and plays the role of a "mediator" in the Russia-Ukraine conflict.

In response to Putin's proposal, Ukrainian President Zelenskyy responded on the same day, stating that Ukraine is ready to accept any form of negotiation and announced that they would "wait for Putin" in Turkey on May 15th.

However, Ukraine and its European allies previously demanded that Russia should first unconditionally cease fire before starting negotiations. Why did Zelenskyy suddenly agree to meet with Putin?

This change is largely due to pressure from Trump, who posted on social media demanding that Zelenskyy immediately agree to Putin's negotiation proposal, stating that Zelenskyy must go to Turkey first to understand whether an agreement can be reached between Russia and Ukraine.

Of course, apart from Trump's pressure, the internal and external difficulties facing Ukraine are also important reasons.

It should be noted that Putin has two clear demands regarding Ukraine: one is the issue of territorial integrity, and the other is that Ukraine cannot join NATO, which is Russia's bottom line.

Regarding this, Trump once stated that NATO would not accept Ukraine, which partially satisfies Russia's demands.

However, Zelenskyy emphasized that whether Ukraine joins NATO is not something Russia can decide, and to make Ukraine not join NATO, strong security guarantees must be provided.

However, on the issue of territory, the two sides have huge differences. Former senior official of the Ukrainian Defense Ministry, Melnyk, revealed that Ukraine's position is that the territorial issue can be discussed, but there are limits.

For example, regarding the Crimea issue, the only possible compromise for Ukraine is to accept the reality of Crimea being occupied and continue to be under Russian control, but recognizing Crimea as part of Russia is unacceptable.

Although both Putin and Zelenskyy expressed willingness to negotiate, the success of this negotiation remains uncertain.

After all, multiple cease-fire agreements between Russia and Ukraine have not been effectively implemented, and mutual accusations of violating agreements by both sides happen frequently. The differences and contradictions remain unresolved, and how to achieve a comprehensive temporary cease-fire between Russia and Ukraine, as well as how to establish a cease-fire monitoring mechanism, are pressing issues that need to be resolved.

Whether the resumption of negotiations between Russia and Ukraine marks the dawn of peace or the beginning of new games remains to be observed. Regardless, we hope that through sincere negotiations, the people suffering from the war can soon enjoy peace.

Original article: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7503512074073457186/

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