Why it matters that Putin won't talk to Zelensky

If it didn’t concern one of the world’s deadliest conflicts, it would read like a bad soap opera: Russian President Vladimir Putinsays he’s ready for peace talks regarding the Ukraine war but that he’ll only talk directly to US President Donald Trump, not Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky. Meanwhile Zelensky, for his part, says Putin is simply “afraid.”

Putin’s position is that because Zelensky postponed the Ukrainian election that was scheduled for last year, he is not a “legitimate” president. The election was canceled, of course, due to the war that began when Putin invaded Ukraine nearly three years ago.

But this all complicates things. Zelensky worries Putin is seeking to “manipulate” Trump into mediating a deal that is unfavorable to Ukraine. He has reason to be worried at least in one respect: Trump has much more pull with Ukraine than he does with Russia.

If Trump cuts aid to Ukraine, it would immediately cripple Kyiv. But with Russia, he has less leverage. His recent tariff threat against Russia was, as we noted here, hollow (Russia exports almost nothing to the US), and further sanctions on the world’s most sanctioned country would hardly move the needle.

Meanwhile, adding to the soap drama, Trump and Putin are signaling that they’re interested in having a phone call, but that each is waiting for the other to reach out.

The terrible TV of it aside, it’s a reminder that although Trump campaigned in part on a promise to swiftly end the Ukraine war, there are major challenges, even for the Artist of the Deal himself.

Meanwhile, the conflict rages on: Russia this week seized another key town near the Ukrainian city of Kharkiv, while Ukraine launched a massive drone attack on Russian energy infrastructure.