Turkey's Russia-Ukraine Peace Summit Next Week? What You Need to Know - Jason Jay Smart

[TexasTowelie]

Will peace talks finally begin this week as Erdogan demands?

Turkey's Recep Tayyip Erdogan has relaunched his high-stakes mediation drive, calling for "Istanbul peace talks" this week with direct outreach to both Moscow and Kyiv. NATO, fresh from its Hague summit where allies locked in a historic 5% of GDP defense spending target, praised Erdogan's diplomatic pivot as an opportunity to revive stalled negotiations. Mark Rutte intensified his rhetoric, reaffirming NATO's ironclad Article 5 commitment and pledging the accelerated delivery of Patriot missile systems to Ukraine. Meanwhile, the Kremlin has doubled down on its maximalist demands: Ukraine must surrender five regions, renounce NATO membership, and agree to sweeping demilitarization before any talks can begin.

On the battlefield, Russian forces are pushing into Sumy Oblast, attempting to carve a buffer zone just hours from Kyiv. Meanwhile, President Zelensky has ordered intensified drone strikes into Crimea to pressure Russia’s command structure toward collapse. Inside Russia, public appetite for war is eroding—a recent Levada Center poll shows that 64% now favor negotiations, while only 28% still support continuing the conflict.

With NATO backing SkyShield-style air defense initiatives and ramping up Patriot deployments, Istanbul's third round of diplomacy is viewed as a decisive moment—either leading to escalation or détente. Jason Jay Smart, also known as Jason Smart and Jason J Smart, breaks down what will happen. Dr. Smart is a political adviser who has lived and worked in Ukraine, Moldova, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Russia, and Latin America. In 2010, he was banned for life by the Kremlin for supporting Russia’s democratic opposition to Vladimir Putin.