NINA L. KHRUSHCHEVA
NEW YORK – The double-headed eagle that dominates Russia’s coat of arms holds many meanings, from signifying a historical connection to the Byzantine empire to acknowledging the influence of the vast country’s eastern and western regions. Following the recent meeting between Russia and Ukraine in Istanbul, and Russian President Vladimir Putin’s subsequent phone conversation with US President Donald Trump, the eagle’s two heads is also a reminder of the country’s two minds, pulling it in opposing directions – and, potentially, tearing it apart.
Putin has, at long last, secured the upper hand in the Ukraine war. Russian troops are making (admittedly slow) progress toward seizing full control of the regions Russia claimed as its own in September 2022: Donetsk, Kherson, Luhansk, and Zaporizhzhia. The country is achieving this despite unprecedented sanctions and many billions of dollars in Western support for Ukraine. Putin has thus sent a clear message to the West and any would-be challenger: never underestimate Russia. There has never been a better time to end the fighting.
Yet, in the first direct talks between the two sides since the beginning of the war, held in Istanbul last week, the Russian delegation issued a list of harsh demands, which Ukraine was certain not to accept – and threatened to “wage war forever.” Don’t forget, the head of the delegation cooly noted, Russia fought Sweden for 21 years in the 1700s. When the talks ended after just a couple of hours, the Russian stock market fell, in what amounted to a clear rebuke from investors.
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