“There is no turning point on the front”: an expert assessed whether the Russian-Ukrainian war can be ended peacefully

Turkish political scientist Togrul Ismail stated that without a real turning point on the front, it is impossible to talk about any agreements between Ukraine and Russia, Politeka reports.

He spoke about this on Valerii Savchuk’s author program “Different People.”

“To put it bluntly, I do not see any turning point in the war. If there is no turning point, then talking about any agreements is practically impossible. One of the sides must assert itself, break the backbone of this war. That is not happening. Neither Russia nor Ukraine can do this. Therefore, talking about how it will end is an illusion,” Togrul Ismail claims.

The main issue, he emphasizes, is that it is completely unclear why the Kremlin needs Ukraine with its multimillion population, especially when the Russian economy is under severe strain and it cannot even retain its own population. With Ukraine, the expert notes, everything is clear—it is about territorial integrity. But Russia’s position lacks clarity; it is unclear where it would stop.

“I believe that at this point, one reasonable way out is to suspend hostilities. Instead of weapons, we should put pens on the table and talk. Let diplomats ‘fight it out,’ argue as they wish, but resolve this issue without military means, so that innocent children, the elderly, women—ordinary civilians—do not die,” Togrul Ismail emphasizes.

Nevertheless, the program’s guest reiterates that there is no turning point on the front, and the fact that Russia has occupied 20% of Ukraine’s territory is not a decisive achievement, especially since holding those areas is not so easy. However, he says, we will soon find out whether the sides can sit down at the negotiating table, although for now this does not seem likely.