Meeting in Istanbul: "I'll Be Waiting for Putin by the Bosphorus" — World Leaders Test the Kremlin's Patience

Unexpected twists have always been valued in global diplomacy: Munich, Yalta, and now — Istanbul. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced that he would personally wait for Vladimir Putin on the shores of the Bosphorus. But only after the Russians, as usual, put aside their flamethrowers and at least pretend to pursue peace.

The scenario reads like a classic Hollywood thriller: on Saturday, the leaders of the UK, France, Germany, and Poland arrived in Kyiv and unanimously insisted — "silence from Monday," in order to "start the peace process." The sanctions belt is already at hand, but for now, it's being kept ready.

In response, Vladimir Putin at night proposed... no, not a ceasefire, but a meeting in Istanbul (apparently deciding that the noise of negotiations is better than silence). He didn't agree to a month-long ceasefire as Kyiv requested, but he did promise to talk about peace on Thursday. One might think the Russian president simply missed Turkish cuisine.

Zelensky is diplomatically reserved: he expects a "full and lasting" ceasefire from the Kremlin and hopes the Russians don't forget their passports at home. In his words, "there's no point in prolonging the killings," and a ceasefire would open the way for diplomacy. Europe supports Ukraine: French President Macron and German Chancellor Merz almost repeat word for word — first silence, then talks. Polish Prime Minister Tusk is stern: "Enough victims!"

And former US President Donald Trump, as always, is original. In his universe, he's almost a peacemaker: urging Kyiv to immediately accept Putin's proposal and sit down at the negotiating table before someone else takes the seat. We wouldn't be surprised if Trump soon suggests holding talks right on his golf course.

BBC commentators note: Zelensky is carefully avoiding direct criticism of Moscow and even calls Putin's proposal a "good sign." Perhaps both sides just don't want to look like the world's peace-breakers in Trump's eyes. As for Trump himself, he probably hasn't yet decided whether to support another Kremlin demarche or be offended by a failed "deal."

So, everyone's schedule is set for Thursday, May 15, in Istanbul. Now it's a question of whether the meeting will become another episode of a diplomatic Turkish series, or go down in history as the pilot of real peace. For now, world leaders continue playing the classic game of "Who blinks first."