That will take some doing. Putin remains uninterested in peace talks as long as Russian troops continue to gain ground in Ukraine’s east, albeit at a slow pace, and while Ukrainian forces hold seized territory in the Kursk region inside Russia, according to John Herbst, a former U.S. ambassador to Ukraine, and other former officials.

I would say they are pragmatic and trusting relations. I can’t help but agree with him that if his victory had not been stolen in 2022, then maybe there would not have been the crisis in Ukraine that arose in 2022.