As Russian shelling once again claimed lives in Kyiv\u2014killing at least a dozen people\u2014comments made by Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov to U.S. network CBS have caught many by surprise. \u201cWe are ready to conclude an agreement,\u201d Lavrov stated, although he acknowledged that certain details still needed to be worked out. The announcement was unexpected, especially given the ongoing intensity of the military conflict, which seems far removed from any genuine desire to de-escalate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
So far, no official document has been released by Moscow, and the framework of a potential agreement remains unclear. According to diplomatic sources cited in the press, the main terms would include Russian control over Crimea, recognition of occupied territories in the Donbas as part of Russia, a freeze of the current frontlines, and a pledge that Ukraine will never join NATO\u2014in other words, a deal imposed on Kyiv, far from Ukraine\u2019s aspirations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has already rejected the notion outright. For Kyiv, surrendering territory in exchange for a dictated peace is unacceptable, especially given the long-standing collapse of trust. Russia has repeatedly violated previous commitments, including the 1994 Budapest Memorandum in which it guaranteed Ukraine\u2019s territorial integrity in return for the relinquishment of its nuclear arsenal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Despite the toll of war and a fatigued population, Ukraine\u2019s military situation is not as bleak as it might appear. The country has increased its domestic production of weapons\u2014especially drones\u2014with a target of four million units in 2024. The frontlines have remained relatively stable for months, demonstrating a notable capacity for resistance, even if the prospects for a large-scale counteroffensive are fading.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Meanwhile, the role of the United States\u2014and of Donald Trump in particular\u2014remains ambiguous. The former U.S. president, now a leading contender in the 2024 election, claims to be putting \u201cstrong pressure\u201d on Moscow, though he has not elaborated. His stance, viewed as vague by many analysts, has fueled mistrust in Kyiv. Trump appears open to endorsing a peace plan aligned with Russian demands, under the banner of stability and economic pragmatism\u2014a position that, to many, would amount to handing Vladimir Putin a blank check.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Security guarantees are central to any future deal. However, at this stage, no credible international force seems capable of ensuring Ukraine\u2019s long-term safety. And with Putin\u2019s record of disregarding or violating treaties, trust remains in short supply.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Kyiv mayor Vitali Klitschko recently hinted at the idea of conceding territory to secure a temporary peace\u2014but his remarks likely reflect war fatigue rather than an actual shift in political will. After all, conceding now could open the door to future demands.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Russia, firmly entrenched in a war economy, shows no signs of strategic exhaustion. And while international sanctions are taking a toll, they have yet to prompt any softening of the Kremlin\u2019s hardline stance. In this context, Russia\u2019s \u201cpeace offer\u201d looks more like a diplomatic maneuver than a genuine effort to compromise. Lasting peace, if it is to come, cannot be built on such a glaring imbalance.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
As Russian shelling once again claimed lives in Kyiv\u2014killing at least a dozen people\u2014comments made by Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov to U.S. network CBS have caught many by surprise. \u201cWe are ready to conclude an agreement,\u201d Lavrov stated, although he acknowledged that certain details still needed to be worked out. The announcement was unexpected, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":527445,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_trash_the_other_posts":false,"editor_notices":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[38],"tags":[],"pays":[114],"personnalite":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-527814","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-diplomacy","8":"pays-world"},"acf":{"type_de_publication":"opinion","nom_de_linstitution":"","description_de_linstitution":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/benews.ci\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/527814","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/benews.ci\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/benews.ci\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/benews.ci\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/benews.ci\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=527814"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/benews.ci\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/527814\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/benews.ci\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/527445"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/benews.ci\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=527814"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/benews.ci\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=527814"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/benews.ci\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=527814"},{"taxonomy":"pays","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/benews.ci\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pays?post=527814"},{"taxonomy":"personnalite","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/benews.ci\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/personnalite?post=527814"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}