Several peace talks have raised hopes for the resolution of the Ukraine war, which has been going on for more than three years. According to multiple sources including the British Broadcasting Corporation and Cable News Network, while several peace talks were held between the United States and Russia in Saudi Arabia, direct peace talks were held between Russia and Ukraine. The success of the US-Russia peace talks is the Russia-Ukraine peace talks in Istanbul. Positively saying, their direct peace talks have made several outcomes including the release of prisoners of war — though no concrete peace terms have yet been reached by the parties — and can help end the war and reach peace.
Further talks between Russia and Ukraine are crucial and will help reach the terms and conditions of ending the war, which can be difficult to reach by talks between Russia and the US alone, and lead to a pathway to understanding, trust-building and lasting peace, along with addressing the root causes of the conflict between the two parties. Even if the talks held earlier between the two parties especially immediately after the start of the war brought no impact, these will help this time since the US peace mediation is going on. Positively saying, the two parties intend to hold further peace talks. Russia says it is ready to work with Ukraine on a memorandum on a possible future peace agreement.
But the mere Russia-Ukraine peace talks will not be as effective as desired in ending the Ukraine war and reaching peace. There are various challenges to reaching peace through talks between Russia and Ukraine only. Differences in the preferences and the insistence of their respective positions may put hindrances to reaching more acceptable peace terms by the parties. Pertinently saying, the earlier talks between the parties — held in 2022 — that were neither intended to end nor effective at all in ending the war failed due to various reasons including the differing interests of the parties. But the possibility of reaching the desired terms is probably less in the absence of other parties.
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Given that talks between Russia and Ukraine are vital, no matter whether they lead to the desired outcomes or not, addressing the challenges is crucial. While some issues including the capitulation of Ukraine need to be discarded, a complete peace plan including long-term peace needs to be negotiated and reached in direct talks. The early work of the parties on a peace memorandum will help reach the terms and conditions of ending the war and peace earlier. But the intention of the parties to end the war, instead of mere talks, has no alternative. A ceasefire deal may create a conducive and better ground for peace talks.
But along with the talks between the representatives of Russia and Ukraine, direct talks between the presidents of these two parties will help reach acceptable terms and end the war. Hopefully saying, the two leaders have expressed their intention to talk directly and the representatives of the two parties in the Istanbul Talks agreed to hold further talks about the meeting of their presidents — though their direct talks have yet to be ensured. But the emphasis of the US on their direct talks can help ensure their peace talks earlier.
Given that talks between Russia and Ukraine alone may not help reach acceptable terms and conditions especially in the absence of other parties, directly and/or indirectly involved in the war, the talks between the United States and Russia need to be continued. The involvement of other parties especially several European countries somewhere in the negotiation process may also help reach more reasonable and acceptable peace terms for the Ukraine war.
Amir M Sayem
Chief Editor
Dhaka Opinion Magazine
