Peace talks are starting in Istanbul, but who will be there?
Vladimir Putin seems to have developed cold feet
AFTER A WEEK of brinkmanship, Volodymyr Zelensky departed for peace negotiations in Turkey still unsure who he would be talking to. Vladimir Putin stayed silent for nearly four days, before turning down the Ukrainian’s dare of a face-to-face meeting. Pressure on the Russian leader seemed to be mounting even at the eleventh hour, with Donald Trump hinting that he would attend if Mr Putin did, and allies like the Brazilian president, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, urging him to “go to Istanbul and negotiate, dammit.”
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This article appeared in the Europe section of the print edition under the headline “Will they, won’t they?”
Europe
May 17th 2025
From the May 17th 2025 edition
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Ukraine’s political infighting gets nasty
As Trump starves it of arms, there is turmoil inside the government
Turkey’s strongman is becoming Donald Trump’s point man
But renewed war with Iran would put the honeymoon with Recep Tayyip Erdogan to the test
Germany’s Bundestag bars AfD MPs from its football team
Could the sporting ban precede a political one?
An infestation of ticks menaces Istanbul
And mosquitos are a growing problem too
The sleeping policeman at the heart of Europe
Enforcement of EU law has become an afterthought
A pragmatic amnesty for separatists benefits Catalonia
But it carries costs for the rule of law