‘Will Vladimir Putin grab the outstretched hand? French President Emmanuel Macron on Wednesday night urged his Russian counterpart to “return to the discussion tableA statement that comes as Moscow says it is waiting for an offer of mediation via Turkey: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is due to meet Vladimir Putin in Kazakhstan on Thursday, October 13 and try to relaunch the peace talks process.
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A member of NATO, Turkey, very dependent on Russian gas and oil, has endeavored since the Russian offensive of February 24 to maintain its relationship with Ukraine and Russia. Ankara indeed played a key role in an exchange of prisoners in September between Russia and Ukraine as well as in the conclusion in July, under the aegis of the UN, of an agreement between the two countries allowing the grain export from Ukraine via the Black Sea and the Bosphorus.
Still, on the ground, this first step in negotiations leaves the Russians skeptical. HAS Bryansk, at 350 km west of Moscow and only 100 km from the Ukrainian border, you come across significantly more cars, or t-shirts bearing the “Z” of the Russian army than in Moscow. The war is scrutinized and is at the heart of daily concerns, as here on the central market. Alexandre, a clothing salesman, does not believe that negotiations can end the conflict. “Negotiating is pointless. Because over there, it’s Nazism. We believe in our president and our people. We support the president, our country, Russia.”
A few steps from him, Vassili, a veteran of the Chechen war, who is a supporter of the strong method. He confides that he did not digest the sabotage of the Crimean bridge and considers that the Russian response in the form of missiles launched on the major Ukrainian cities is legitimate. “IYou have to speak the same language as them, use the same weapons. Otherwise, if we don’t do it, they will continue to bombard us, to commit attacks and after that it will be even worse“, he lets go.
For him, as for many in Bryansk, there is no question of talking to Volodymir Zelensky. “And how to solve the problem if they don’t understand anything? And how can we negotiate with Zelensky? We try this, we try that. And he refuses. He only listens to his Western patrons, like ‘Grandpa Biden’. But in fact, he’s sick in his head“, Vassili then gets annoyed.
Even the more moderate ones, like Xenia, don’t believe it. This young doctor, however, hardly hides that she is opposed to this war: “Nobody wanted this to end in military action where people were killed. Of course, it would be better to reach an agreement. But all this has been going on for too long… Unfortunately, we should have negotiated much earlier. It’s probably impossible now“, she regrets. Xenia says she fears that the only possible outcome today is the disappearance of Ukraine.