This article was originally published by Michael Snyder at The End of the American Dream. 

Are we about to see Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy sitting across from each other at a negotiating table in Turkey?  It looks like that could actually happen this week.  If both leaders really do show up, there will be peace negotiations in Turkey starting on Thursday.  But will these negotiations lead to peace, or will they lead to World War 3?

Western leaders were threatening to hit Russia with a new round of very harsh sanctions if the Russians did not agree to a 30-day ceasefire beginning on March 12th.  In response, Russian President Vladimir Putin offered to start direct peace talks with Ukraine on May 15th…

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Sunday proposed direct talks with Ukraine on May 15 in Turkey that he said should be aimed at bringing a durable peace, an initiative welcomed by US President Donald Trump.

Some Western leaders are suggesting that Putin is not serious about peace.

But to me, it definitely sounds like he is ready for substantial talks with the Ukrainians…

President Vladimir Putin said, according to a translation by the BBC: “We are determined to have serious negotiations with Ukraine. The purpose is to eliminate the root causes of the conflict and establish long-term, lasting peace with a historical perspective.

“We do not exclude that during these negotiations it will be possible to agree to some new truces, a new ceasefire. Moreover, a real ceasefire that would be observed not only by the Russian side, but also by the Ukrainian side.”

Surprisingly, it appears that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has accepted the offer to meet in Turkey on May 15th.

In a post on Twitter, Zelenskyy clearly stated that he “will be in Türkiye this Thursday”…

Starting tomorrow, we await a ceasefire — this proposal is on the table. A full and unconditional ceasefire, one that lasts long enough to provide a necessary foundation for diplomacy, could significantly bring peace closer. Ukraine has long proposed this, our partners are proposing it, and the whole world is calling for it. We await a clear response from Russia.

Russia will have to end this war anyway. The killings must stop. Ukrainian forces will be ready to respond symmetrically— to ensure fairness. We have repeatedly heard from our partners that they are prepared to strengthen sanctions against Russia if Putin rejects a ceasefire. Time will tell.

Here in Ukraine, we have absolutely no problem engaging in negotiations, we are ready for any format. I will be in Türkiye this Thursday, May 15, and I expect Putin to come to Türkiye as well. Personally. And I hope that this time, Putin won’t be looking for excuses as to why he “can’t” make it.

We are ready to talk, to end this war. Thursday. Türkiye. President Trump has expressed support. All the leaders support this.

Just getting Putin and Zelenskyy into the same room would be a monumental achievement.

I think that Zelenskyy agreed to go to Turkey due to pressure from President Trump.  After Putin proposed the meeting in Turkey, President Trump went on Truth Social and strongly urged the Ukrainians to accept…

President Putin of Russia doesn’t want to have a Cease Fire Agreement with Ukraine, but rather wants to meet on Thursday, in Turkey, to negotiate a possible end to the BLOODBATH. Ukraine should agree to this, IMMEDIATELY. At least they will be able to determine whether or not a deal is possible, and if it is not, European leaders, and the U.S., will know where everything stands, and can proceed accordingly! I’m starting to doubt that Ukraine will make a deal with Putin, who’s too busy celebrating the Victory of World War ll, which could not have been won (not even close!) without the United States of America. HAVE THE MEETING, NOW!!!

I never imagined that we would see a day when the fate of the world was being negotiated on social media.

But this is the world that we live in now.

President Trump recognized that getting the Russians and the Ukrainians to negotiate with one another was the right move, and I am so glad that it looks like it is actually going to happen.

But the truth is that reaching an agreement to end the war will be nearly impossible.

The Russians want Ukraine to agree to never join NATO, they want zero NATO troops in Ukraine once the war is over, they want to keep all the territory they have already taken, and they want the Ukrainians to hand over the remaining territory in the four regions that Russia has annexed that the Russians do not currently occupy.

The Ukrainians are not likely to agree to any of those conditions.

The Ukrainians are determined to join NATO, they want hundreds of thousands of NATO troops to “keep the peace” in Ukraine once the war is over, they will never recognize Russian sovereignty over the areas that Russia has conquered, and there is no way that they are going to simply give the Russians additional territory that the Russians do not currently possess.

Hopefully I am wrong, but I believe that these negotiations will ultimately fail.

As President Trump has stated, if negotiations fail his administration “will know where everything stands, and can proceed accordingly”.

This is our one chance at peace with Russia.

We must not blow it.

Sadly, it appears that our one chance at peace with Iran is already gone.

The Iranians insist that they must be allowed to continue to enrich uranium, and they will not budge from that position.

President Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff says that this is not acceptable to the United States under any circumstances.

According to Witkoff, a nuclear enrichment program “can never exist in the state of Iran ever again”…

In an interview published on Friday, Witkoff stated that an enrichment program “can never exist in the state of Iran ever again.”

“That’s our red line. No enrichment. That means dismantlement, it means no weaponization, and it means that Natanz, Fordow, and Isfahan, those are their three enrichment facilities, have to be dismantled,” he said.

Witkoff added he thinks Iranians “have no choice” but to accept the position of Trump against enrichment. “Obviously, they can say no, and they can test President Trump, but I think that would be an unwise thing to do.”

The Trump administration was really hoping that Iran would back down.

But that was never going to happen.

So it is just a matter of time before the bombing of Iran’s nuclear program begins.

As I have repeatedly warned, that will spark an apocalyptic conflict in the Middle East, unlike anything we have ever seen before.

To a very large degree, 2025 will be defined by what is going to happen in the Middle East in the months ahead, and I am convinced that it won’t be too long before events start to spiral out of control in a major way.

Michael’s new book entitled “10 Prophetic Events That Are Coming Next” is available in paperback and for the Kindle on Amazon.com, and you can subscribe to his Substack newsletter at michaeltsnyder.substack.com.

About the Author: Michael Snyder’s new book entitled “10 Prophetic Events That Are Coming Next” is available in paperback and for the Kindle on Amazon.com. He has also written nine other books that are available on Amazon.com including “Chaos”, “End Times”, “7 Year Apocalypse”, “Lost Prophecies Of The Future Of America”, “The Beginning Of The End”, and “Living A Life That Really Matters”.  When you purchase any of Michael’s  books you help to support the work that he is doing.  You can also get his articles by email as soon as he publishes them by subscribing to his Substack newsletter.  Michael has published thousands of articles on The Economic Collapse Blog, End Of The American Dream and The Most Important News, and he always freely and happily allows others to republish those articles on their own websites.  These are such troubled times, and people need hope.  John 3:16 tells us about the hope that God has given us through Jesus Christ: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”  If you have not already done so, we strongly urge you to invite Jesus Christ to be your Lord and Savior today.