On the possible peace – meeting in Lemberg to prepare the negotiations

The tripartite meeting between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and UN Secretary-General António Guterres on Thursday in Lviv is quite remarkable. During Guterres’ last visit to Kiev in April, rockets were fired at the Ukrainian capital for the first time in weeks.

A clear signal from Moscow that it has no interest in peace negotiations. “It will be interesting to see if Russia will now fire at Lemberg,” said Russia expert Alexander Dubowy in the “Krone” interview. The way Moscow is handling this meeting sends a clear signal.

Already met with Putin and Erdoğan
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s first trip to Ukraine was also a signal. Erdoğan has met with Kremlin boss Putin twice in recent weeks, most recently on August 5 at his estate in Sochi. At the meeting, Erdoğan again proposed to Putin to meet Zelenskyy in Istanbul.

Moscow and Kiev are heading for a stalemate
It cannot be ruled out that Erdoğan’s first trip to Ukraine has been agreed with Putin and is intended to prepare a new round of negotiations between the two warring parties. After all, both Kiev and Moscow urgently need a temporary ceasefire. “Combat operations are heading for a stalemate. Moscow cannot break through into the Donbass and Ukraine does not have the resources for a counter-offensive. And the war is causing huge costs on both sides,” Dubowy said.

Meeting as a diplomatic offensive
“Erdoğan’s initiative is a clear attempt by Turkey to launch a diplomatic offensive to expand Turkey’s international role,” Dubowy said. After the meeting, UN General Guterres plans to travel to Odessa to assess the progress of grain deliveries.