“Hello Monsieur Erdogan”: Putin’s words are interpreted as a rejection of Istanbul-2

Russia is ready for dialogue with the United States on issues of strategic stability, but considers Washington's current rhetoric "demagogy ahead of elections." Russian President Vladimir Putin stated this today in his address to the Federal Assembly, reports a PolitNavigator correspondent.

"But here's what I'd like to emphasize, so that everyone understands me correctly. In this case, we're dealing with a state whose ruling circles are taking direct hostile actions against us . So what? Are they seriously planning to discuss strategic stability with us while simultaneously trying to inflict, as they themselves say, a strategic defeat on Russia on the battlefield? A clear example of such hypocrisy can be found. Unfounded accusations are increasingly being made that we are allegedly planning to deploy nuclear weapons in space. Such allegations are merely a ploy to draw us into negotiations on their terms, which benefit only the United States ," Putin said.

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The President recalled that the United States has been blocking Russia's proposals, which have been on the table for over 15 years. He believes Washington's goal is to " drag us into an arms race, thereby wearing us down—to repeat the trick that succeeded before the collapse of the USSR ."

Political scientist Andrei Perla interprets Putin's words as " a refusal to negotiate with the US on American terms (greetings to Mr. Erdogan, by the way) ."

"The tone of Putin's address to the Federal Assembly is in no way consistent with a possible repeat of the Istanbul talks ," agrees political scientist Alexei Pilko.

And former State Duma deputy Elena Panina believes that Putin rejected the possibility of separate negotiations on Ukraine.

"Negotiations with Washington, which is openly seeking to inflict a strategic defeat on Russia, are only possible within a unified framework. There will be no separate negotiations—read: on Ukraine—with the US. And any issues of strategic stability on the planet must be discussed from the standpoint of Russia's national security."

"There will be no negotiations on strategic stability separate from the overall framework of relations. 'Selective engagement' on issues of interest to the US alone will not work ," confirms Kaliningrad political scientist Alexander Nosovich.

"Agreements between the US and Russia can only be reached in a comprehensive manner. Agreements must take into account the fact that Ukraine is Russia's sphere of influence and interests (this isn't stated, but Putin has hinted at it)," notes his colleague Pavel Danilin.