The song and dance surrounding the so-called Russia-Ukraine negotiations in Istanbul produced nothing substantive — as could easily have been predicted. It was arguably a waste of time and resources. But the charade did have two important consequences.

First, it proved beyond reasonable doubt that Russian President Vladimir Putin and his entourage have no interest in a ceasefire or peace. Indeed, only a hopelessly out-of-touch ignoramus can still believe that Putin wants anything but war and genocide.

And second, the charade demonstrated that neither President Trump nor Putin holds “the cards”. Rather, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky does.

Though neither a superpower nor a has-been superpower, Ukraine is the only country that can effectively end the war. How? By removing what Putin calls the war’s “root causes.”

Putin’s envoy to Istanbul, Vladimir Medinsky, pulled no punches when he stated, “We don’t want war, but we’re ready to fight for a year, two, three, however long it takes. We fought Sweden for 21 years. How long are you ready to fight?” Good luck reconciling not wanting war with the willingness to wage it for more than two decades. But Medinsky’s maximalist message comes through perfectly clearly.

Unsurprisingly, the envoy........

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