Diplomatic traffic, NATO's anniversary, and the death of children in Ukraine

In recent weeks, diplomatic traffic at the international level has been quite intense. This situation can be explained by several reasons: the ongoing war on Ukrainian soil and potential peace negotiations, the NATO Summit in Washington, and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization Summit in Astana. After visiting China in May, Putin continued his travel schedule in North Korea, where he was met with great interest. After North Korea, he visited Vietnam, a country with which Russia has been cooperating for many years. All these visits by the Russian president are a sign that Russia wants to strengthen its relations in Southeast Asia, and at the same time, show the world that Russia is not an isolated country and that it has partners with whom it can establish cooperative relations in trade or military fields. Russia is trying to establish close relations with the countries of this region because it knows that NATO wants to "plant" its own flag in Asia. It is no coincidence that the leaders of Australia, Japan, New Zealand, and South Korea were invited to Washington for the Washington Summit; this proves that the partners want to expand NATO's sphere of influence in Asia.

In Europe, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban's "peace tour" or "peace mission" was harshly criticized by European countries, but appreciated by countries like Russia and China. Orban first went to Kiev, met with Zelensky, then made a surprise visit to Moscow, followed by China, and without stopping by "home," i.e., Hungary, he went directly to Washington to attend the NATO Summit. In an article he wrote for the American magazine Newsweek, Orban says: "It is worth remembering that the most successful military alliance in world history began as a peace project and its future success depends on its ability to maintain peace. But today, the pursuit of war is on the agenda instead of peace; this pursuit is an attack rather than defense." Viktor Orban is in favor of signing a peace agreement between Russia and Ukraine. According to him, the negative effects of this war are a huge burden for European citizens. The Hungarian prime minister is known for his open stance toward Moscow, with whom he has maintained diplomatic relations since the start of the war in Ukraine. Orban is also a European leader who believes that by electing Donald Trump, Americans will choose a strong president who will "make America great again" and be able to end the war in Ukraine.

Another important visit that should not be forgotten is the Indian Prime Minister's visit to Moscow. Narendra Modi's reception by Vladimir Putin at his official residence drew the attention of the Russian media, which interpreted this visit as "completely unprecedented." Modi's visit shows India's determination to maintain close ties with Russia despite Western pressure.

At the NATO summit held in Washington recently, 32 allies celebrated the 75th anniversary of the North Atlantic Alliance. This time, what we all predicted happened: Ukraine will not be a NATO member in the near future because, as current NATO chief Stoltenberg said, "we don't have a clear date." In return, Ukraine will continue to receive air defense systems, ammunition, and financial aid against Russia's attacks.

It should be noted that before this summit, China's non-military influence had reached the borders of NATO countries. Belarus, Russia's main ally, became the tenth member of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization.

Before the NATO Summit, Russia wanted to send a message to the whole world by bombing the largest children's hospital in Ukraine, where children with oncological diseases were being treated. Images of sick children covered in blood, forced to remain connected to ventilators in the middle of the street, spread all over the world. Such images reminded me of Israel's attacks on the Al-Shifa hospital in Gaza and the subsequent labeling of Netanyahu as a "war criminal." The same label was attached to Putin, but this will not stop him from continuing his attacks on Ukraine. Russia, of course, denied that it carried out this attack, blaming Ukraine for the cause of this tragedy.

We are not sure whether the diplomatic traffic at the international level aimed at starting peace negotiations between Russia and Ukraine will yield results. However, what is certain is that Russia's military attacks on Ukraine will intensify until the US elections. Putin will try to seize more Ukrainian territory so that he has something to negotiate when he sits at the negotiating table sooner or later. If Trump wins the US elections, he will stop financing the war in Ukraine, and the war will end "within 24 hours," as he has stated many times.

The world we live in is a giant chessboard. As we can predict, there will be radical moves on this board until the US elections.