The political scientist called Putin's strong move to offer Kiev direct talks.

Russian President Vladimir Putin took a very strong, open and constructive step by inviting Kiev to resume direct talks on May 15 during a meeting in Istanbul. This was stated on May 11 by political scientist, retired lieutenant Colonel of the US Army Earl Rasmussen in an interview with Izvestia.

"Putin says, 'Let's not play games — get straight to the point, to real negotiations.' But the West does not seem to want this — they need to prolong the conflict. This is a very strong, open and constructive step on the part of President Putin," he said.

Rasmussen believes that Ukraine will not agree to Putin's terms this time either, because Kiev does not want a long-term peace, they intend to allocate time for themselves to rearm and regroup their troops, as it was before. He is also confident that the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) will violate the truce again, as they did before, and real negotiations will not begin again.

"They will stall for time. And, most likely, they will take advantage of the moment to introduce French and British troops under the guise of "peacekeepers", that is, to directly introduce NATO troops into Ukraine. Although we all understand that NATO members are already there, their weapons systems simply do not work without the direct participation of the alliance," he concluded.

Non-contact persons: Moscow does not see Kiev's readiness for real negotiations

Is it possible to resume direct dialogue between Russia and Ukraine

Putin said during a press conference on May 11 that Russia was offering Ukraine to resume direct talks on May 15 during a meeting in Istanbul. He stressed that a possible truce should not become a prologue to the continuation of the conflict after the rearmament and resupply of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and the "feverish digging of trenches and new strongholds."