Bangladesh, May 17 -- After years of brutal conflict and stalled negotiations, a glimmer of hope emerged over the weekend as Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov indicated that a direct meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky might be possible – but only if ongoing peace talks between their delegations yield concrete progress. This development follows the first face-to-face talks between Russian and Ukrainian representatives since the war erupted in February 2022, signaling a cautious but important step toward potential de-escalation.

On May 16, in a much-anticipated event mediated by Turkey, Russian and Ukrainian negotiators convened in Istanbul for a two-hour session that marked the ...