Ukraine War in 2025: Efforts to Establish Peace Fail.
The war in Ukraine was sparked by the West’s disregard for Moscow’s security concerns about the expansion of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) military alliance. In response to the West’s disregard for its security concerns, Russia launched its special operations in Ukraine on March 25, 1402.
During this period, NATO member states have continued the war by abandoning the diplomatic option and sending extensive military aid to Kiev, and by equipping Ukraine with heavy weapons, they have preferred confrontation over de-escalation; an approach that, along with economic and social pressures in Europe, has turned the Ukrainian case into a new arena for conflict over the cost of the war and responsibility for its consequences.
US President Donald Trump, whose election promise was to end the war within 24 hours, began his efforts to establish peace between Moscow and Kiev from the very first days of his return to the White House, criticizing the approach of his former counterpart Joe Biden’s administration; Trump’s meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska was a turning point in the peace talks.
Meanwhile, several rounds of talks have been held between European, American, Russian, and Ukrainian officials over the past year, but the important point is that despite all the efforts and mediations made, the leaders of Russia and Ukraine, who are the main parties to this conflict, have not had any direct talks so far.
Reports indicate that agreements have been reached during the talks and at the same time as Washington’s presentation of a peace plan, but territorial disputes, especially in relation to eastern Ukraine and the management of the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant, are still among the important issues that have not been agreed upon; The territorial dispute over the Donetsk and Luhansk regions of the Donbas region is an issue that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky described as the “most difficult” part of the talks and said should be discussed at the leadership level.
The United States has proposed turning the regions into “free economic zones.” Ukraine insists that any agreement must be subject to a referendum so that the Ukrainian people can decide their fate.
Zelensky took his first cautious step toward a compromise on land in the eastern Donbas region, days after the US proposal.
He presented a new version of the peace plan to reporters, suggesting that he was ready to withdraw Ukrainian forces from the east of the country to create a demilitarized zone as part of a deal to end the war if Russia agreed to do the same.
The Ukrainian president explained to reporters that since Ukraine opposes a complete withdrawal, American negotiators are seeking to create a demilitarized zone or free economic zone in the disputed area. According to him, any area from which Ukrainian forces withdraw should remain under Ukrainian supervision and control.