Expectations low as US gives Ukraine peace talks another try

Résumé détaillé

Although a new round of U.S.-led talks are getting underway to end the war in Ukraine, observers say that prospects for resolution remain unlikely.

Although a new round of U.S.-led talks are getting underway to end the war in Ukraine, observers say that prospects for resolution remain unlikely.

After a nine-month hiatus, the United States is set to restart peace talks between Russia and Ukraine in Abu Dhabi Tuesday – though with little optimism from any of the parties that Moscow’s nearly five-year-old war on its neighbor is ripe for resolution.

With prospects for a general ceasefire almost nil, U.S. negotiators Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner are expected to focus discussions on the security commitments that would be part of any future accord ending the war.

The expected two days of talks will explore a “postwar security arrangement” that would be part of a peace accord and necessary to stop the war from flaring up again, Mr. Witkoff said in a weekend social media post.

With the midterms over, the White House may be looking to foreign policy to flex its muscles. But peace in Ukraine still looks a long way off, even as new talks start Tuesday.

But with the big issues feeding the war left off the table – territorial demands, Ukraine’s government, and its relations with Western Europe for Russia; Russia’s illegal annexation of Ukrainian territory, and its attacks on civilians and civilian infrastructure for Ukraine – any end to the war seems far off.

The Abu Dhabi talks will only address “technical questions,” Dmitri Trenin, president of the Russian International Affairs Council, told journalists in Moscow last week. None of the bigger issues important to Russia will be addressed, he said.

The U.S.-sponsored talks broke off in February after Ukraine refused Russia’s territorial demands and the U.S. launched its war on Iran. Mr. Witkoff, President Donald Trump’s special peace envoy, and Mr. Kushner, Mr. Trump’s son-in-law, largely turned their attention to Iran.

Hopes for a ceasefire were kindled recently when U.S. first lady Melania Trump and Pope Leo XIV managed to negotiate a temporary humanitarian ceasefire in…

Début de l'article, extrait de The Christian Science Monitor. Pour lire la suite, ouvrez l'article chez le média.