Careful, patient diplomacy, not wishful thinking, can bring about peace. The post Trump Sets Fantasy Deadline for End to Ukraine War appeared first on The American Conservative .
Foreign Affairs Trump Sets Fantasy Deadline for End to Ukraine War Careful, patient diplomacy, not wishful thinking, can bring about peace. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images) If only ending a war were as simple as marking a date in your calendar for the war to end. According to Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky, Trump has done just that, and peace has been penciled in for the spring. Citing sources “familiar with the matter,” Reuters was the first to report that a deadline had been proposed. They said that “an ambitious March goal for Russia and Ukraine to agree on a peace deal” has been discussed.…Open
ABC News' Patrick Reevell reports that there is still a "fundamental gap between the two sides over territory," specifically Ukraine's eastern Donbas region.
The latest round of talks ended with no indication of progress, but negotiators are bargaining over who will control land in eastern Ukraine if they reach a settlement.
The Ukrainian people would reject a peace deal that involves Ukraine unilaterally withdrawing from the eastern Donbas region and turning it over to Russia , President Volodymyr Zelensky told Axios in an interview Tuesday. Why it matters: As Zelensky was speaking to Axios, Ukrainian and Russian negotiators were meeting for a third round of direct talks in Geneva. The main sticking point is control of the Donbas, around 10% of which is still in Ukrainian hands. - Zelensky said U.S. mediators Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner have told him Russia genuinely wants to end the war, and that he should coordinate with his own negotiating team on that basis ahead of the talks. - But Zelensky made clear he's much more pessimistic. He also advised…
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky says the U.S. wants Russia and Ukraine to sign a peace deal that ends the war by June, before President Trump pivots to focusing his energy on the midterm elections. Why it matters: The U.S. timeline Zelensky laid out is pretty ambitious, both because there are still significant gaps between Russia and Ukraine and because Ukraine will have to hold a referendum on the peace deal before it is signed — a process that can take several months. - "We had very good talks today having to do with Russia-Ukraine. Something could be happening," Trump told reporters on Air Force One on Friday night. Driving the news: Senior officials from Russia and Ukraine held on Wednesday and Thursday a second round of…
Little has been made public so far, but negotiators were expected to talk about the fate of Ukrainian territory in the east and security guarantees for Ukraine.
At Davos, the Ukrainian president scolded European leaders. The post For Zelensky, Is Losing the War Better Than Losing the Peace? appeared first on The American Conservative .
Foreign Affairs For Zelensky, Is Losing the War Better Than Losing the Peace? At Davos, the Ukrainian president scolded European leaders. The biggest progress in the talks between Russia and Ukraine is that, for the first time since the opening weeks of the war, Russia and Ukraine are talking. That’s important. The first time they held direct talks, they were on their way to ending the war—at least before Ukraine’s friends in the United States, the UK, and Poland encouraged an end to diplomacy and a full commitment to war. For weeks, Russia has called negotiations “constructive,” the U.S. has said the talks “are at the end…Open
Secretary of State Marco Rubio called the question “the one remaining item” in Abu Dhabi peace talks. Russia disputed that.
AI:The conflict over the Donbas region remains a critical sticking point in international diplomacy, with Secretary of State Marco Rubio identifying the control of the Donetsk region as the primary unresolved issue in ongoing peace negotiations held in Abu Dhabi. While the United States views the territory as the final major hurdle for stability, the Kremlin continues to dispute this characterization, complicating efforts to reach an agreement and maintaining high tensions on the ground amidst previous discussions regarding a temporary pause in hostilities due to extreme weather.Open