Kremlin says preparing for Normandy Format talks not possible

Preparations for the
Normandy Format talks to resolve the war in Donbas are not possible currently
the positions of one of the sides is changing, Russian Presidential
Administration Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Oct. 22, as reported by the
rbc.ua news site. The same day, Ukrainian President Zelensky met with German
President Frank-Walter Steinmeier during his working visit to Japan. Zelensky
aressed his desire to renew the Normandy Format talks “in the nearest future,”
the president’s website said. Recall, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Vadym Prystaiko said this month that the Normandy Format talks being
held in November is the last chance to fulfill the Minsk Accords to resolve the
warfare in Donbas.

Zenon Zawada: 
Russian President Putin won’t agree to the Normandy Format talks unless Ukraine
is ready to capitulate. Zelensky might eventually agree to capitulation terms
to rescue his failing presidency, but not so soon. So Zelensky will have to
offer the public something grand in exchange for extending the war in Donbas.
Since we don’t see anything grand on the horizon, we see his popularity
plummeting in the first months of the new year.