Putin has a "positive shift"

The talks held on March 10 in Antalya between the Foreign Ministers of Russia and Ukraine through the mediation of the Turkish Foreign Ministry did not bring changes to the course of events in Ukraine, the reports of the general staffs of the warring armies retain the same pace and intensity of military operations. But the very fact of the negotiations that took place can already be considered as step in favor of the negotiation process.

This is confirmed by the statement of Turkish presidential spokesman Ibrahim Kalin, who said he considers the meeting organized by Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu in Antalya as a step that will lay the foundation for political negotiations between the leaders of Russia and Ukraine.

Further, he noted that the meeting in Antalya between Foreign Ministers Dmitry Kuleba and Sergey Lavrov showed that the parties were ready to continue negotiations. "Lavrov said that President Putin would not hesitate to meet with Zelensky. I take this as a good sign. There is reason to believe that this will happen sooner or later."

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, who did not rule out the possibility of a meeting between Putin and Zelensky expressed the ideas close to this  statement.  "No one excludes a meeting between Putin and Zelensky, it is conceptually possible, but first the negotiators must do their part."

Kalin noted live on CNN International Thursday that mediation efforts will continue. “Our multifaceted diplomatic initiatives will continue. When you are involved in such a war, multi-level diplomacy is always important, useful and important to minimize the damage from the war and stop military aggression sooner or later."

Erdogan's spokesman used the following assertion about whether Turkey would mediate between Russia and Ukraine in further negotiations: "The final decision to end this war will be made by President Putin."

According to Bloomberg, Putin referred to "positive developments" in talks with Ukraine hours after he said he would send fighters from the Middle East. The statement about the mercenaries was distributed in the media in the morning of 11 March. He spoke about positive developments later during negotiations in Moscow with his Belarusian counterpart Alexander Lukashenko.

What prompted Putin to use the assessment of "positive developments" is not entirely clear. In addition to the compromises that President Zelensky is willing to talk about, the positive shift in Putin’s thinking could be influenced by bad news from the battlefields, from the oil market recording the fall in oil prices, a dismal economy, and the murmuring of Russian elites increasingly openly calling for an end to the war.