A month after Donald Trumpʼs election victory peace-talk discussions got more active‚ even though no real progress happened yet. Dmitry Peskov Kremlins spokesman told Izvestia newspaper that conditions arent right for negotiations; however he noted that many countries (including Qatar) offered their help in mediation
The timing is important here — about 2 years and 10 months since Russia started its military operation Russia now controls roughly 1/5th of Ukrainian land. Recent weeks showed faster Russian movement on front-lines than seen before. Valentina Matviyenko who leads Russias upper house thinks peace-talks might start next year: this matches with Trumps promise to end conflict fast when he takes office in Jan-2025
There are no grounds for negotiations yet
Moscow keeps its long-standing position — it wont talk to Volodymyr Zelenskiy unless Ukraine gives up its NATO plans and moves troops from Russian-held areas. On the flip-side Ukraine doesnt want to give up any land and just said this tuesday that NATO membership is the only way to keep safe
- Qatar helped return Ukrainian kids from Russia
- US approved new 725-million-dollar help package
- Trump might name Ukraine envoy who supports freezing battle lines
While Bidenʼs team tries to give Ukraine last-minute support (letting them use long-range missiles) many worry that any deal under Trump might favor Russia. The situation gets more complex as different countries try to help find middle ground between both sides demands