At the behest of the newly re-elected American president, the time seems ripe for diplomacy as the war continues in Ukraine amid widespread indifference in Europe, both on the front lines and at home, where civilian populations and industrial infrastructure are being bombed. Has the time really come for negotiations? Has the strategic situation evolved enough for them to lead to a lasting end to the fighting, assuming they take place and produce concrete results, as the May 15 meeting in Istanbul suggests? Between complete uncertainty on the American side, which contrasts with a clear geopolitical project on the Russian side, rooted in geography and historical continuity, which is far from achieving its objectives, and on the European side, where there is still the same lack of objectives and positive strategy, the same weak will to prevent Russia from winning without clearly affirming the need for its defeat, one wonders where we are headed! In this situation, in mid-May, Admiral Girard believes that for the Russians, this double admission of weakness on the part of the West gives them only one desire: to continue this war, whatever the cost!
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