‘Much softer’: Is Russia eyeing a way out of the Ukraine war? - Al Jazeera English

Russian President Vladimir Putin whitethorn beryllium softening his hardline stance connected the warfare successful Ukraine arsenic Moscow’s defence curate held uncommon talks with his United States counterpart aft a spate of battlefield setbacks.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who has mediated betwixt Russia and Ukraine, said connected Friday that Putin appeared to beryllium “much softer and much unfastened to negotiations” with Ukraine than successful the past.

“We are not without hope,” Erdogan said of the anticipation of talks to extremity the conflict.

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters connected Friday that Putin has been unfastened for negotiations “from the precise beginning” and “nothing has changed”.

“If you remember, President Putin tried to initiate talks with some NATO and the United States adjacent earlier the special subject operation,” helium said.

“Putin was unfastened to negotiations erstwhile a papers was astir agreed connected betwixt Russian and Ukrainian [negotiators]. So successful that respect, thing has changed. The presumption of the Ukrainian broadside has changed… Ukrainian instrumentality present prohibits immoderate negotiations,” Peskov added.

Earlier this month, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said successful an interrogation that Russia was consenting to prosecute with the United States oregon Turkey connected ways to extremity the war, present successful its eighth month, but had yet to person immoderate superior connection to negotiate.

The biggest struggle successful Europe successful decades has drawn comparisons with the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis, which brought the satellite to the brink of atomic warfare and raised questions astir whether Washington and Moscow should prosecute successful talks to debar an enlargement of the conflict, including a atomic confrontation.

‘Maintaining communication’

Russian Defence Minister Sergey Shoigu, meanwhile, spoke connected the telephone with US Pentagon main Lloyd Austin connected Friday — their archetypal telephone successful 5 months.

The 2 talked astir “international information problems, notably the concern successful Ukraine”, the Russian defence ministry said.

“Secretary Austin emphasised the value of maintaining lines of connection amid the ongoing warfare against Ukraine,” the Pentagon said successful a statement.

It was lone the 2nd clip Shoigu and Austin spoke since the commencement of the penetration connected February 24. On May 13, Austin pressed for an contiguous ceasefire and made the aforesaid petition to person unfastened lines of communication.

At the time, Russia’s invading unit had been beaten backmost from the superior Kyiv but it was making dependable gains successful the eastbound Donbas and Kharkiv regions and had consolidated positions successful the south.

Six months on, however, Ukraine’s forces person pushed backmost connected each fronts.

Kyiv’s subject successful caller weeks — aided by Western weapons — has precocious towards the confederate Kherson region’s main city, besides called Kherson.

Kherson was the archetypal important metropolis to autumn to Moscow’s troops and retaking it would beryllium a large triumph successful Ukraine’s counteroffensive. Russian-installed officials are trying to evacuate up to 60,000 radical from the Kherson portion for their information and to let the subject to physique fortifications.

Ukraine’s propulsion successful the southbound comes aft a sweeping counterattack successful the northeast Kharkiv region, which badly impaired Russia’s proviso routes and logistics corridors successful the Donbas.

‘Meaningful diplomacy’

Whether the subject setbacks person forced Russia into looking astatine imaginable ways retired of Ukraine remains to beryllium seen.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said connected Friday that Washington volition see each means to beforehand diplomacy with Russia if it sees an opening but astatine the infinitesimal Moscow shows nary motion of willingness to prosecute successful meaningful talks.

“Every denotation is that acold from being consenting to prosecute successful meaningful diplomacy, President Putin continues to propulsion successful the other direction,” Blinken said astatine a property conference.

“We see and volition see each means to beforehand diplomacy if we spot an opening to beforehand it by immoderate means, of people we’ll ever look astatine it,” helium said but added Moscow was alternatively “doubling and tripling down” connected its aggression.

Russia intensified its rocket and drone attacks connected Ukraine’s powerfulness and h2o infrastructure this week successful what Ukraine and the West telephone a run to intimidate civilians up of the acold winter.

A caller Mariupol?

For now, the adjacent important conflict appears to beryllium for Kherson city.

Analyst Mykhailo Samus said Russian troops should person been evacuated “a agelong clip ago”, but added helium thought it was improbable the Ukrainians would privation to onslaught the Russian-held metropolis wherever tens of thousands of residents remain.

“The Ukrainians won’t behaviour immoderate conflict for Kherson. They don’t onslaught and destruct cities similar Russia, similar Mariupol,” Samus said, referring to the metropolis the Russians pounded to rubble earlier successful the war.

Retired US General Ben Hodges agreed the Ukrainians were apt to debar a “giant combat wrong the city” and alternatively are “keeping these Russian troops fixed determination truthful that they cannot escape”.

Pierre Grasser, a researcher tied to Paris’ Sorbonne University, said Ukrainian troops were having to cautiously measurement their movements extracurricular the city. Any person and “they volition beryllium entering the Kherson suburbs and that could beryllium dangerous”, helium said.

“Urban warfare ever leads to galore deaths connected the attacker’s broadside [and] it would hazard a caller Mariupol” successful presumption of damage, said Grasser.

Valeriy Zaluzhnyi, commander-in-chief of Ukraine’s equipped forces, faces a dilemma, analysts say.

“Besiege [the city] for arsenic agelong arsenic it takes oregon annihilate it and trim it to rubble,” retired French General Michel Yakovleff said, calling it a “terrible choice”.