Putin Seems Bizarrely Distracted By 1 Thing As Pressure For Him To Attend Peace Talks Grows

Russian President Vladimir Putin has still not said if he will be going to the peace talks he suggested.Vladimir Putin is staying mysteriously silent over Thursday’s face-to-face peace talks over the Ukraine war.Instead of confirming whether or not he will be attending the negotiations in Istanbul tomorrow, the president seems focused on bringing western business back to Russia.It was a major moment when Putin suggested Moscow and Kyiv “resume negotiations” in Turkey last week.Direct talks between the warring countries have not taken place since 2022, while their heads of state have not met since December 2019.The Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy agreed, and confirmed that he will be going to Turkey himself to wait for Putin – as long as Russia promises to impose a 30-day ceasefire.But his Russian counterpart has refused to say anything about whether or not he will attending, even after Donald Trump said there was a “possibility” he could join the negotiations.Instead of saying anything about the talks, Putin keeps discussing the return of the Western companies who fled Russia in protest over his invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.Speaking on Tuesday, he went on a rant saying it was not enough for Western brands to apologise before returning.“Well, no! This is not enough,” Putin said, according to Russian state news agency TASS. “This is not enough. We should definitely look at all those issues pragmatically.”It’s not clear why he believes businesses are about to try and return to Moscow, especially as the war is ongoing and Ukraine’s allies continue to pile fresh sanctions on Russia.He also claimed: “The world’s leading economies are sliding into a recession, just to harm us.”“Of course we must keep this in mind – that they can do what they are talking about,” Putin told a meeting with Russian business leaders, alluding to further economic punishments from the west.“And of course we must at least minimise the negative consequences.“Everything is interconnected in the modern world, we all know this. But still, there are key factors that constitute one of the parameters of our economic independence and sovereignty.”Bizarrely, the president did not mention the war directly, even though it is at the heart of Russia’s economic problems right now. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov also refused to offer any details on who would be in the Russian delegation to reporters this week, saying: “We are not going to comment any more yet. As soon as the president sees fit, we will announce it.”Zelenskyy has been quick to capitalise on this response from the Kremlin, calling out his Russian counterpart’s “very strange silence” on Monday night.The Ukrainian president also told journalists on Tuesday: “Trump needs to believe that Putin actually lies. And we should do our part. Sensibly approach this issue, to show that it’s not us that is slowing down the process.”Related...Putin Minister Finds A New Culprit To Blame For Dragging Out Ukraine War – And It's Not RussiaRussian Politician Calls Zelenskyy's Latest Putin Request 'Pure Theatrics'Zelenskyy Says 'I Will Be Waiting For Putin In Turkey'

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