Prystaiko: Putin Will Have to Make Decisions by End of Summer

Vadym Prystaiko, a diplomat with over 30 years of experience, former Foreign Minister under President Zelenskyy, and ex-ambassador to the UK, gave an interview to Ukrainska Pravda discussing the state of negotiations between Ukraine and Russia.

According to Prystaiko, the current pause in negotiations is part of the process, and Putin is using his statements to influence different audiences: his own people, the United States, and third countries. He believes that by the end of summer, Putin will be forced to make a decision on how to proceed with the war.

The former minister emphasizes that returning to the so-called Istanbul agreements would be dangerous for Ukraine. Those agreements were the result of Russia's initial blitzkrieg in 2022, when Russian forces threatened Kyiv. Prystaiko notes that the format and outcome of negotiations are primarily determined by military success on the front and the country's economy. Had Ukraine agreed to the Istanbul terms, it would have become like Belarus or Bosnia, unable to make independent decisions.

Prystaiko also comments on President Zelenskyy's open letter to Putin, saying its real addressee was not Putin but Russian elites and society. He doubts the reliability of oligarch Roman Abramovich as a mediator, who recently visited Kyiv to exchange messages. Prystaiko reveals that Abramovich tried to redirect proceeds from the sale of Chelsea FC to a fund helping both Ukrainian and Russian war victims, but the UK government demanded the money go solely to Ukraine.