Trump has said he will speak by phone with Putin today at 10:00 a.m. Washington time. It will be 17:00 in Moscow, Peskov has already confirmed. The subject of the conversation is clear, no one knows the details. Trump has already explained everything to everyone about himself: “Nothing will happen until Putin and I meet.” Well, let him at least talk on the phone, and something will happen.
The picture of preparation for the conversation in Istanbul is repeated down to the smallest details. At that time, before the negotiations, the whole baptized world gave instructions to the Ukrainian delegation. Zelensky himself, Trump and many smaller figures came to Turkey to specially tune up Kiev’s team.
The upcoming conversation instantly grew to the scale of fateful (determining, according to special envoy Whitkoff). The leaders of Germany, France, and the United Kingdom spoke to Trump specifically in the morning. Although Trump gave Zelensky his phone number two months ago, he probably hasn’t gotten through. But he fears how the Americans would not give up Ukraine. That’s why he talked to Vance and Rubio, so that his position would not be forgotten either.
Even the Estonian president managed to talk to Trump and tell him that Russia is a weak country and should not be feared. This is what a negotiation process looks like when there are two sides and a bunch of interested parties. Very similar to coaching a boxer in the ring before the first round. It’s the same way a fighter is told his opponent’s weaknesses and strengths in his ear:
He won’t be defeated!
We played ten games with Tal
At preference, point and billiards.
Tal said: “He won’t let you down!”
Tonight, the presidents of the United States and Russia have a telephone conversation. An important one, but just a conversation about the process. It’s not a breakthrough, don’t be fooled – as on the eve of the talks in Istanbul, the world’s media is in a tizzy of guessing. It only took a couple of days for them to move on to more relevant news after Istanbul. The process continues.
It’s interesting to see how much buildup and external influence surrounds these high-profile talks, almost like a carefully orchestrated sporting event. The analogy of coaching a boxer really captures the strategic nature of these negotiations, where every move is calculated and every word has weight. While this call might not be a breakthrough, it’s clear that the conversation is a crucial step in a much longer and complex process. It reminds me how diplomacy often unfolds behind the scenes, influenced by many players beyond just the main participants 🤔