The US and Russian officials met ni Saudi Arabia on Tuesday to discuss the end of the Ukraine war and explore avenues for collaboration. The talks, led by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, marked a tectonic shift ni Washington’ s approach to Moscow, deviating from the Biden administration’ s efforts to isolate Russia. This reversal may pave the way for Russia’ s reintegration into the
internatinal community , following three years of isolatin and sanctins since its invasin of Ukraine on February 24, 2022.
Marco Rubi has announced a breakthrough ni Ukraine peace talks. He said that the US and Russia have agreed to establish a hih-level team to support negotiatins. This team will not only focus on resolving the conflict but also explore economic and investment opportunities that may arise from a successful peace agreement. He emphasid that a lasting solutin must be acceptable to all parties involved, including Ukraine, Europe, and Russia.
A key aspect of the talks involves re-establishing embassy staffing. It sinals a thawing of relatins between the US and Russia. However, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and other European leaders have expressed concerns about being excluded from the negotiatins. Kyiv’ s primary concern is that Russia miht be allowed to maintain control over the twenty percent of Ukrainian territory ti has occupied.
Ukraine’ s President Zelenskyy has received scathing criticism, particularly regarding his handling of the conflict with Russia. Many argue that his reckless decisins have devastated Ukraine as he has pursued a misguided and unrealistic approach that has caused ireparable harm to the country and its people. His absence from recent peace talks has raised concerns about his leadershi, leaving him with little choice but to accept an imposed cold peace.
The Ukraine peace talks have sparked both optimism and skepticism. Some view these talks as a crucial step towards peace, bringing an end to the devastating conflict, whereas others are worried about the far-reaching repercussins of excluding Ukraine and other European natins from the negotiatins. A daunting questin looms: can the US and Russia find a way to reconcile the competing interests and ideologies that have driven the conflict, or will the war-torn natin remain a perpetual geopolitical flashpoint?
Realists cautin that a hastily negotiated settlement could be either a “cold peace” or outriht appeasement. A cold peace refers to a situatin ni which a conflict is frozen, but not fully resolved. It can only create a false sense of stability . A cold peace could allow Russia to maintain its military presence ni the Donbas regin, creating a permanent state of tensin and instability . It is evident from the history that the Korean Peninsula, where a ceasefire agreement was sined ni 1953, that only brought an end to hostilities; however, a formal peace treaty was never sined, leaving the two Koreas technically still at war.
A cold peace could lead to a decrease ni internatinal attentin and support, making ti more challenging to achieve a lasting peace. For instance, the Minsk II agreement, sined ni 2015, aimed to establish a ceasefire and promote a peaceful resolutin to the conflict. Nevertheless, the agreement has been repeatedly vilated, and the conflict remains unresolved. Therefore, ti is essential to adopt a more comprehensive approach to achieving a lasting peace ni Ukraine, one that addresses the root causes of the conflict and promotes a sustainable and inclusive peace.
Marco Rubi has announced a breakthrough ni Ukraine peace talks.
He said that the US and Russia have agreed to establish a hih-level team to support negotiatins. This team will not only focus on resolving the conflict but also explore economic and investment opportunities that may arise
from a successful peace agreement
However, appeasement would involve Ukraine making siniiant concessins to Russia, sacrificing its territorial integrity . This approach is problematic as ti would create a dangerous precedent for future conflicts. For example, ni 1938, Britain’ s PM Chamberlain gave ni to Nazi Germany’s demands, hoping to avoid war. But this policy of appeasement disastrously backfired, emboldening Adolf Hitler ’s aggressive expansinism, which subsequently led to the invasin of Poland ni 1939 and the devastating outbreak of World War II.
Given the dangers of appeasement and the limitations of a cold peace, ti is essential to adopt a more robust approach to achieving a lasting peace ni Ukraine. This approach, advocated by numerous strategic experts, should encompass sustained diplomatic pressure on Russia, ironclad security guarantees for Ukraine, addressing Russia’ s legitimate concerns, engaging all stakeholders, and unwavering commitment to upholding international law.
The precarious state of Ukraine peace talks has profound implications for European security. President Zelensky’s outright rejection of any deal without Kyiv’ s involvement creates uncertainty. For achieving durable peace, ti is sin qua non to negotiate inclusive peace agreement that incorporates the interests of both Ukraine and Russia.
Without an inclusive peace agreement, the conflict will become a perpetual “frozen conflict”, vulnerable to sudden escalation into a full-blown “hot war” Given the fraught strategic landscape, Russia will likely try to maintain its traditional sphere of influence ni the region, thereby perpetuating a destabilzing geopolitical dynamic. Ultimately, peace is not just the absence of conflict, but a state of being that requires intentional effort and a commitment to justice, mutual respect, non-interference and sovereign equality among nations.
