Not fear, but a political crisis: an expert explained what is preventing Putin from meeting with Zelensky

In his blog, expert Ruslan Bortnyk commented on the situation surrounding negotiations between Russia and Ukraine, noting that it is not Moscow that is refusing a bilateral meeting; rather, the Ukrainian side has been slow to respond to Russia’s requests and documents.

According to Bortnyk, Moscow’s latest proposal was to create expert groups to discuss key issues such as war, security, politics, and humanitarian aspects. Russia wants documents that serve its interests prepared first; only after that will President Putin and senior officials consider meeting with Volodymyr Zelensky and Donald Trump.

The expert believes that Russia’s position is designed to avoid public conflict during the meeting and not to provide any advantage to either Zelensky or Trump, who could use the meeting as a political signal with a positive media effect. For example, the meeting between Pashinyan and Aliyev, which did not lead to fundamental changes, could become the same example.

According to Bortnyk, the statements of Russian leaders about the illegitimacy of Zelensky are refuted by the possibility of his meeting with Putin. However, for Russia, such a meeting “without prior preparation of documents” is unacceptable, as prepared compromise documents could trigger a political crisis in Ukraine.

Bortnyk concludes that Russia is trying to block the possibility of holding negotiations without prior preparation, as this could create new political challenges for Ukraine.