Another round of trilateral Ukraine peace talks has wrapped up in Geneva with the ritual claims that they were ‘businesslike’ and ‘productive’. Meanwhile, President Zelensky took to social media to announce that he doesn’t ‘need historical shit to end this war’ and accused the Russians of doing nothing but engaging in delaying tactics. So is there any point to the talks?

Central to this question is quite what Vladimir Putin really wants. If granted the remaining, unconquered portion of the Donetsk region that he is demanding – itself potentially a concession too far for Kyiv – will he be willing to call it quits and allow the rest of Ukraine to go its own way, subject to constraints on Nato membership and the presence of foreign troops in peacetime? This is, after all, the basis of the current process, which therefore focuses on haggling over territory and security guarantees.

Or, as others assert, is this all a sham, to placate Donald Trump and string everyone along? This camp believe that Putin will never abandon maximalist demands not just for even more territory, quite possibly including the Black Sea port of Odessa, but the ousting of the Zelensky government and the imposition of a new one subservient to Moscow. If this is true, then it is hard to see how the current talks can do anything........

© The Spectator