Why Russian-Ukrainian Peace Talks Won’t End Putin’s War

BCF : In what appeared to some as a significant volte-face, the Kremlin signaled earlier this week that it is seeking substantive progress in ongoing peace talks with Ukraine.

During the latest round of Russia-Ukraine talks in Istanbul, Kiev offered Moscow a fresh model for Ukrainian neutrality. Ukraine is willing to abandon its bid to join NATO in exchange for legally binding security guarantees from a large group of “guarantor nations,” including the United States, Canada, France, Britain, China, Germany, Israel, Turkey, Italy, and Poland.

The Ukrainian negotiators likened the scheme to Article V of NATO’s charter, which relates to collective defense. But the analogy belies a striking contrast: Article V is a reciprocal security arrangement that requires every member to come to the defense of every other member, whereas Ukraine is calling for unilateral security guarantees from the world’s great powers without taking on any military commitments in turn.

Among the Ukrainian proposals was a fifteen-year consultation period on the status of Crimea, presented by Kiev as a good-faith compromise that would allow the two sides to focus on negotiating an end to hostilities. Additionally, Kiev offered never to manufacture weapons of mass destruction (WMDs) and to ban the establishment of foreign military bases on Ukrainian territory.

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