Efforts to bring an end to the Ukraine war have gained momentum with US President Donald Trump calling for peace talks. Kremlin officials say that rapid outcomes are not expected due to strained US-Russia relations under President Biden’s leadership.
US special envoy Steve Witkoff and President Vladimir Putin met to discuss peace negotiations, but both sides acknowledged that the negotiations are complex. Russia’s government underscored that fixing shattered diplomatic relationships will take time, and things may move slower than anticipated.
Donald Trump, who portrays himself as a peacemaker, has insisted on ending the “bloodbath” in Ukraine. But both sides are going slowly in resolving the conflict.
Diplomatic meetings continue, but with complications
Dialogue between Russia and the US goes on, with caution. Trump’s special envoy, Steve Witkoff, had a crucial meeting with President Putin in St. Petersburg on Friday. The more than four-hour meeting was regarded as the biggest breakthrough in strengthening diplomatic relations.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the talks were “going very well,” but noted that restoring relations, strained over recent years, would be a long process. This is in line with the Kremlin’s thinking that negotiations for peace cannot bring quick results, considering the strained relations between the two nations.
Ukraine’s ongoing military actions
Although peace talks continue, there is no slowdown in sight for the war in Ukraine. Each side has accused the other of ceasefire breaches. Russian troops persist in missile and drone attacks, primarily against Ukrainian infrastructure, while Ukrainian troops assert Russia has not ceased its offensive.
This continuous military engagement makes it challenging to maintain a lasting ceasefire. The noncompliance with ceasefire agreements and lack of cooperation show that, even as talks advance, the battlefield is still unpredictable, making it challenging to come to an agreement on peace.
NATO expansion and territorial matters
The fundamental matters of the war—NATO expansion and Ukraine’s territorial integrity—are still paramount to the negotiations. US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth recently advocated the possibility that Ukraine’s borders before 2014 could be “unrealistic” in peace negotiations. This is a departure from the position of the majority of European leaders, who are firm in their support of Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial claims.
Trump’s administration, while less outspoken about NATO’s role in the region, has the same commitment as European allies to Ukraine’s right to regain its lost territory, further widening the gap in diplomatic approaches.
A long and uncertain journey
The fate of the peace talks is uncertain. Kremlin focus on the time required to restore US-Russia relations indicates how challenging it is to end the Ukraine conflict. Although both sides are at the negotiating table, they have serious diplomatic, military, and political challenges.
The world is keenly observing and awaiting a breakthrough that will end the war and restore stability to the region. Yet, as long as armed conflict continues and significant differences remain on major points, the journey towards peace in Ukraine is a long and uncertain one.
