How are the talks about ending the war in Ukraine going?

Peace negotiations

How are the talks about ending the war in Ukraine going?

For the first time – initiated by US President Trump – there are Western-led talks about ending the war in Ukraine with the participation of Russia. Can they lead to peace?

The talks to end Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine are entering a new phase. The US’s first 28-point plan quickly came under criticism as a “Russian wish list” and a “deed of surrender” for Ukraine. Kiev and leading politicians from the EU, including Chancellor Friedrich Merz (CDU), had the paper renegotiated in accordance with Ukrainian and European security interests and were able to achieve changes. Official talks with Russia are now planned for the first time. Some questions and answers about the chances of success:

In the United States, Ukrainian and American negotiators worked on Sunday on open questions about a possible peace plan. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio then spoke of “further progress”, but also emphasized that there was still a lot to be done. President Donald Trump was optimistic and said: “I think there’s a good chance we can do a deal.”

The US’s preliminary 28-point plan became known through media reports the week before last. Leading European states, EU representatives and the Ukrainian delegation then pushed for adjustments at a meeting with US negotiators in Geneva just over a week ago. Afterwards there was talk of a modified paper.

According to the Kremlin, both versions – the original and the new Geneva version – are also available to Russia. The first official talks with US representatives are now planned for the first half of the week in Moscow, as President Vladimir Putin himself announced. The Russian head of state praised the first US plan as a basis for possible peace negotiations.

On the Ukrainian side, the secretary of the National Council for Security and Defense, Rustem Umyerov, leads the nine-member negotiating team. He has already spoken to the Russian side in Istanbul this year during the first direct negotiations since 2022. Moscow’s chief negotiator Vladimir Medinsky, who successfully negotiated exchanges of prisoners and killed soldiers with Umyerov, is still Putin’s first man for the talks.

Russian representatives are expecting US President Donald Trump’s special envoy for talks in Moscow this week. Steve Witkoff has not only met Putin repeatedly, he also maintains close contacts with his economic expert Kirill Dmitriyev, who has been to the USA several times for discussions about a possible end to the war. Dmitriyev is luring people with economic contacts if the hostilities end and the sanctions are lifted. While he follows instructions from Putin’s foreign policy advisor Yuri Ushakov, Witkoff is criticized for allowing the Russians to dictate the terms of a ceasefire.

The Europeans are not directly involved in the negotiations, but in view of the serious war right on their doorstep, they still speak up again and again. The EU emphasizes that the two major powers, the USA and Russia, cannot alone decide on the fate of Ukraine or on European security interests. They try to assert influence and not be reduced to the role of spectator.