What Is Putin Thinking?
After proposing direct talks, the Russian leader did a one-eighty
Last week, Russian President Vladimir Putin made a stunning announcement: he was ready for talks with Ukraine with no pre-conditions.
It was out of the blue.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was meeting with the leaders of France, Germany, the UK, and Poland, in Kyiv to discuss the future of European sanctions against Moscow and EU aid for Ukraine. According to the French foreign minister Jean-Noel Barrot, the new sanctions package, which went into effect one day before the scheduled ceasefire talks on May 15 that Putin had proposed, would seek to “suffocate once and for all Russia's economy.” The new sanctions would have a particular focus on the infamous shadow fleet, which by some estimates, could now be moving over 70% of Russia’s seaborne oil exports. The rogue ships may also be allowing Russia to sell oil for $10 more per barrel, generating over $8 billion extra in revenue.
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