--- description: A raft of optimistic headlines would suggest there’s potential for peace in the region. But the cruel realities engendered deep skepticism. title: Why Distrust is Hampering Russian-Ukrainian Peace Talks image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt857724f1d9d59f64/698a307b011682e4ce981b98/ukraine-russia-peace-talks.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Politics](/section/politics/) ## Politics Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [The D.C. Brief](/tag/the-dc-brief/) ## The D.C. Brief Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Why Distrust is Hampering Russian-Ukrainian Peace Talks  by [Philip Elliott](/author/philip-elliott/)  ## Philip Elliott Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Senior Correspondent Mar 30, 2022 5:42 PM CUT  Ukrainian presidential adviser and negotiator Mykhailo Podolyak makes a press statement after the peace talks between delegations from Russia and Ukraine at Dolmabahce Presidential Office in Istanbul, Turkey on March 29, 2022. Ukrainian presidential adviser and negotiator Mykhailo Podolyak makes a press statement after the peace talks between delegations from Russia and Ukraine at Dolmabahce Presidential Office in Istanbul, Turkey on March 29, 2022.Onur Coban—Anadolu Agency/Getty Images  by [Philip Elliott](/author/philip-elliott/)  ## Philip Elliott Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Senior Correspondent Mar 30, 2022 5:42 PM CUT _This article is part of The D.C. Brief, TIME’s politics newsletter. Sign up_ [_here_](https://cloud.newsletters.time.com/signup?nln=dc-brief?source=dc%5Farticle "undefined") _to get stories like this sent to your inbox._ It’s mighty tempting in geopolitical circles to fall into a choose-your-own-adventure reality. And nowhere was that more apparent than Istanbul this week as representatives from Moscow and Kyiv tried to [broker](https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2022/03/29/ukraine-russia-invasion-live-updates/7200444001/ "undefined") an end to a European [ground war](https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/blog/ukraine-russia-war-live-updates-delegations-arrive-peace-talks-n1293490 "undefined") that is now bleeding into its second month and threatening the entire post-World War II status quo. A raft of optimistic headlines would suggest there’s potential for peace in the region, and both sides’ message machines went into overdrive to sell the notion of a breakthrough. But the cruel realities engendered deep skepticism back here in D.C. The [headlines](https://www.wsj.com/articles/ukraine-and-russia-hold-talks-as-zelensky-criticizes-west-on-sanctions-arms-11648549561 "undefined") suggest Russian President Vladimir Putin would gladly [meet](https://www.cnn.com/2022/03/30/politics/biden-zelensky-putin-intelligence/index.html "undefined") with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky once the final terms are hammered out, and Russian forces would scale back their violence towards the Ukrainian capital in the interim. But at the White House, the top communications hand to President Joe Biden [said](https://www.usatoday.com/videos/news/nation/2022/03/29/wh-no-one-should-fooled-russian-claims/7210152001/ "undefined") “no one should be fooled by Russia’s announcement,” the Pentagon’s top spokesman [warned](https://www.axios.com/russia-ukraine-peace-talks-kyiv-chernihiv-51b577e0-e5b6-4845-9b83-2ccba397015a.html "undefined") that Russia “can still inflict massive brutality on the country” of Ukraine, and even Ukraine’s foreign minister [advised](https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2022/03/29/roman-abramovich-poison-turkey-talks-ukraine-russia/ "undefined") his negotiators not to eat, drink, or touch anything that might lend itself to poisoning. In short: they’re at the table, but everyone assumes every single tchotchke on it is a diplomatic—if not real—land mine. That doesn’t lend itself to much real productivity. Welcome to the performative dance of diplomacy that has foreign policy hands from Washington to Beijing trying to figure out if any of this is real. Any responsible nation would accept an invitation to negotiate. But, at the end of the day, there’s really no point in joining the talks if you know the party across the table is ready to sabotage the process on a whim or with [bad intelligence](https://www.reuters.com/world/putin-advisers-too-afraid-tell-him-truth-ukraine-us-official-2022-03-30/ "undefined"). These talks are all about Moscow positioning itself against the West. And that makes it all the more dangerous for Kyiv. Bad-faith negotiations are hardly new. In fact, there’s an entire field of the discipline that urges diplomats to assume the players on the other side are negotiating only on their own behalf. But seldom have there been such blatant examples of figures at the table—or observing from seats pressed against the walls—openly saying they don’t trust their peers. Even during talks with some truly noxious rivals throughout history, Washington would adopt a Russian proverb _doveryai, no proveryai_—or as Americans came to know it via Ronald Reagan, _trust but verify_. Now, the centers of power in Washington are telling audiences to distrust the posture from the other side. Even as Moscow was telling the West earlier this week that it was backing off its assault on Kyiv, intelligence officials warned the public it was a ploy meant to reposition its weapons for a new wave of attacks. And, it turns out, the West was right. It now seems fighting in the eastern stretch of Ukraine has [intensified](https://www.wsj.com/articles/russian-assault-on-kyiv-eases-as-missile-strikes-ground-attacks-continue-around-ukraine-11648634073 "undefined"), strikes are coming at the very spot where Moscow had vowed to tamp down [hostilities](https://www.nytimes.com/live/2022/03/30/world/ukraine-russia-war "undefined"), and “[filtration camps](https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2022/03/30/ukraine-mariupol-russia-evacuation-filtration/ "undefined")” are screening Ukrainians before relocating them from their cities. All of this comes in direct contrast with what peace talks just days earlier had sought to de-escalate. Now two months into this bloody war and sprawling refugee crisis, Washington, Ukraine and the rest of the world are ready to find an offramp from Russia’s continued aggression. Peace talks seemed like an opportunity for a pause, if not a resolution. But from the start it’s been clear the sclerotic distrust between Russian and Ukrainian negotiators isn’t misplaced. After all, if you can’t trust the Russian across the table not to [poison](https://www.wsj.com/articles/roman-abramovich-and-ukrainian-peace-negotiators-suffer-symptoms-of-suspected-poisoning-11648480493 "undefined") you, his word is even less appetizing. _Make sense of what matters in Washington._ [_Sign up for the D.C. Brief newsletter_](https://cloud.newsletters.time.com/signup?nln=dc-brief?source=dc%5Farticle "undefined")_._ ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/6162936/russia-ukraine-peace-talks-trust/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/6162936/russia-ukraine-peace-talks-trust/"},"headline":"Why Distrust is Hampering Russian-Ukrainian Peace Talks","datePublished":"2022-03-30T17:42:55.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-24T14:04:29.147Z","description":"A raft of optimistic headlines would suggest there’s potential for peace in the region. But the cruel realities engendered deep skepticism.","url":"https://time.com/6162936/russia-ukraine-peace-talks-trust/","keywords":["The D.C. 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