This Is A Pointless Headline And Story

[ichkeria]

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-66351867

I am a bit disappointed that the words of an out-and-out lying war criminal are taken as news at all, never mind taking pride of place on the website.

[ToraToraTora]

I thought it was going to be about Tony Blair!

[ichkeria]

This is only interesting insofar as the merre mention of "peace talks" might indicate a final realisation that Russia is losing this war and cannot hope to gain any m ore than it currently has.
However according to VVP, Ukraine has lost hundreds of tanks, and has been beaten back on all fronts, so Russia is winning!
The lies told by Putin at this Russia-Africa summit are mind boggling even by his standards. The seummit was pretty much a disaster for him anyway: aside from the toadying of younf president Traore of Burkina Faso, and the other dubious regimes of Central African Republic and Mali, he was told in pretty stark terms: "thanks for the offer of free grain, but we want the Black Sea reopened"

[sandyRoe]

I'm sure he wouldn't reject talks.
'Give me what I want and you can have peace', he would say.

[Gromit]

I agree.
Putin has said nothing new. Certainly no indication that he is working to end the war.

[Geoffrey13]

So did I TTT. LOL.

[Old_Geezer]

But he doesn't need talks. He knows wmhat the red line is before peace can break out. Just send him a text reminding him.

[andy-hughes]

ich - // I am a bit disappointed that the words of an out-and-out lying war criminal are taken as news at all, never mind taking pride of place on the website. //

I also immediately thought the 'messiah' was mouthing off again.

Give us a few days, and the headline will fit him as well!

[naomi24]

I think it’s right to report it. Wouldn’t want anyone thinking he’s Mr Nice Guy.

[ichkeria]

But they might with headlines like that.

No problem with it being reported, but it shouldn't be blazed as a serious development.

[naomi24]

You have a point.

Just read Reuters reporting that Medvedev has said that they would have to use nuclear weapons if Ukraine’s on-going counter offensive was a success. Can’t post a link.

[ichkeria]

Medvedev has been posting bloodcurdling threats for months.
He threatened to nuke Sweden as they'd stopped selling Absolut vodka. Of which I believe he consumes quite a lot these days.
There is a very good reason why no one will negotiate with Putin again: quite simply because he could never be trusted to stick to any agreement. In St Petersburg he rehashed the old fantasy that Russia withdrew its forces around Kyiv last year as part of a deal with Ukraine which the latter failed to honour.
There is an interesting story in the Express from yesterday by the way:
https://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/1796679/ukraine-soldiers-training-uk-russia-war-crimea

A couple of days ago Ukraine hit the Chongar bridge, one of a couple that links Crimea to mainland Ukraine: slowing Russian logistics there even more. Who knows if the "sources" quoted in the Express are accurate.

[Bobbisox1]

His eyes are too close together and he has a square face ,just saying’ :0/

[naomi24]

The whole thing just chills me to the bone.

[ynnafymmi]

One has to admire Putins chutzpah.Just like Napoleon in 1812"once we take Russia we will be there for a thousand years",just like Hitler in 1941"this invasion will be over in six weeks,we knock the door down and the whole edifice collapses".Hundreds of thousands died thanks to Napoleons"chutzpah".Millions died thanks to Hitlers"chutzpah".How many more to die for the fascist Putins"chutzpah"?

[ichkeria]

The comments from Medvedev are nonetheless interesting: it's the first time as far as I know that mention has been made of the counteroffensive succeeding: a possible sign that russians know the writing is on the wall. It has taken a long, painstaking time, to penetrate their defences and the russians themselves have launched an offensive in the nothern of the front, which has seen them make some advances.
But once the Ukrainians break through, the end may well be swift. Crimea cannot be held by Russia once Ukraine reaches the Azov Sea. They could cope without a land bridge in what passed for peacetime from 2014-2022, but they would not be able to offer much resistance in a war situation.

[ynnafymmi]

Hah.Napoleon,Hitler,Putin.Three eejits that thought they could take over the world.They failed.Aerosols all three.

[ichkeria]

“ the russians themselves have launched an offensive in the nothern of the front, which has seen them make some advances. ”

Guess what: all their gains have been lost :-)

[tomus42]

I don't know what you're bothered about Ich.

This is Putin begging for the war he started to be over. It should be headlines.

[Zacs-Master]

The activities of the Russian forces doesn’t suggest Putin is begging for the war to be over. This (very useful) interactive map of hour-by-hour attacks / manoeuvres gives a good picture of what’s happening:
https://liveuamap.com/en/2023/31-july-at-shakhtarske-direction-russian-army-shelled-blahodatne

[ichkeria]

“This is Putin begging for the war he started to be over”

No it isn’t. And as I said above: because of his and Russia’s reputation for lying how could any reasonable person trust any agreement he was involved in again?
He has called for “settlements” before but always with one precondition being Ukraine’s surrender.
Russia is a terrorist state and must be faced down by the civilised world now or we’re storing up huge problems for the future.
Russia’s terror attacks in Ukrainian cities (6 dead including mother and 10 year old daughter and 75 wounded in Krivii Rig yesterday) are having the opposite effect to the one he wants. He’s hopelessly deluded