Skip to content

Peace Negotiations

Russia Rejects The Swiss Peace Summit As A ‘Fraud’

The two-day Ukraine peace summit will start on Saturday, June 15 amidst widespread speculation about its objectives. The possibility that this will start a process for peace is also in serious doubt given the non-participation of several significant countries such as China and no invitation to Russia, one of the main parties of the conflict. According to the Reuters, nearly 90 states and international organizations, mostly from the West, have confirmed participation in the summit which will be held on June 15-16 at Burgenstock in Switzerland. Despite the participation of some Global South countries such as India, the summit is expected to be dominated by the Europeans, the US, and their allies.

Hamas Accepts UNSC Gaza Resolution, Demands Israel Follow Suit

The UN Security Council voted on 10 June to support a US resolution backing a ceasefire plan for the war in Gaza. Hamas has accepted the resolution, according to a top official in the movement, while Israel has not. The BBC reports that the proposal sets out conditions for a “full and complete ceasefire,” the release of Israeli captives held by Hamas, the return of dead captives' remains, and the release of Palestinians held captive in Israeli prisons. Fourteen of the 15 Security Council members voted in favor of the US-drafted resolution. Russia abstained. US President Joe Biden unveiled some aspects of the three-part plan in a televised statement on 31 May, describing it as an Israeli ceasefire proposal.

Understanding Biden’s Proposal For A Gaza Ceasefire

As U.S. President Joe Biden stepped up to the microphone on Friday, he checked his watch before beginning his speech, joking that he wanted to make sure it was afternoon. Given that he was almost an hour late to the speech, someone might have told him behind the scenes to wait until it was close to the beginning of Shabbat in Israel. That way, far-right, and Sabbath-observant, ministers such as Bezalel Smotrich and Itamar Ben-Gvir would have to wait a day to respond to a speech they certainly did not want to hear. Nor was Biden’s speech one that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu could have been very pleased with, although he must have known it was coming well in advance.

Colombian Government And National Liberation Army Sign First Point Of The Peace Agreement Agenda

The government of Colombia and the armed guerrilla movement National Liberation Army (ELN) signed the first point of the peace agreement agenda, as announced in a joint press conference at the end of the peace talks held in Caracas, Venezuela. “Signing of the first point of the peace agreements: the participation of society in the construction of peace,” the Colombian government representation announced after the latest round of the peace talks with the ELN ended on Saturday, May 25, as scheduled. The delegations of the Colombian government and the ELN, headed respectively by Vera Grabe and Pablo Beltrán, presented the signed agreement at the post-negotiation press conference.

Officials Admit West Sabotaged Ukraine Peace Deal With Russia

The United States has played a key role in fueling the wars in both Israel-Palestine and Ukraine. The US government has sought to prevent peace in Gaza, vetoing resolutions in the UN Security Council that call for a ceasefire, while sending weapons to Israel to help it bomb densely populated civilian areas, contributing to the killing of more than 15,000 Palestinians, approximately 70% of whom are women and children. Since 2022, Washington has done exactly the same in Ukraine, torpedoing peace proposals that Russia had supported. This has been confirmed by numerous sources, including the former leader of Germany and a top Ukrainian official, as well as Israel’s ex prime minister.

Collaboration, Not Confrontation

The United States has articulated a policy that it wishes to continue this war to severely ‘weaken Russia’ – as US defence secretary Lloyd Austin and other high officials have been explicitly stating – and, it is claimed, to place Ukraine in a stronger bargaining position for eventual negotiations (or in a weaker position, if the Russian offensive makes an impact, a strong likelihood that is quietly ignored). The policy of trying to ‘weaken Russia’ through the escalation of the war in Ukraine is the position of the United States and the United Kingdom, and with some variation, their European allies (France, as usual, demurs here and there, but when push comes to shove, lines up with Washington). 

Why Does Turning Against A War Never Include Admitting Who Was Right?

The better part of a year into the current phase of the war in Ukraine, General Mark Milley accidentally blurted out that peace talks might be a good alternative to an endless bloody war for the same results. Now it’s becoming more acceptable in Washington, D.C., to anonymously whisper that he was right. But we’re lifetimes away from it becoming acceptable to mention that every single principled peace advocate on Earth had expressed that opinion openly and clearly several months earlier. It hasn’t even yet become acceptable to admit who was right about any past wars. The Korean War comes to mind as a vastly more destructive debacle.

Ceasefire In The Russia-Ukraine War Will Take Much Longer Than We Want

Negotiations, ceasefires, armistices and peace agreements are as old as wars themselves. Every war ends with some version of one of them. The wars have been studied endlessly, but lessons learned on how to end the wars have generally been ignored by those conducting the world’s latest wars.  To stop the killing in the Russia-Ukraine conflict, people of conscience must do everything we can to make negotiations for a ceasefire become a reality—and that was the purpose of the International Summit for Peace in Ukraine held in Vienna, Austria, June 10-11, 2023. 

Is The War In Yemen Coming To An End?

A delegation from Saudi Arabia has arrived in Yemen’s capital Sana’a alongside Omani negotiators with the aim of reaching a resolution to the protracted war in Yemen. This marks a major turning point in a conflict that began more than eight years ago and has been characterized as a stalemate between Yemen’s Houthis and a coalition of anti-Houthi forces backed and led by Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). This arguably unexpected turn of events — surprising given Saudi Arabia’s years-long war against a group they characterize as ​“Iran-allied rebels” — is the result of talks that began in early 2022 between the Saudi Arabian government and Yemen’s government in Sana’a, led by Ansar Allah — also known as the Houthis.

Ukraine War: Those Who Fail To Call For Negotiations, Fail to Understand The Danger Facing The Planet

At no time since the Cuban missile crisis has our world has been so close to disaster. As the war in Ukraine approaches its first anniversary, it is being increasingly transformed by the Biden administration and the “collective west” into a war between NATO and Russia. The danger of turning into a nuclear confrontation is imminent. The 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis was a wake-up call in the midst of Cold War, warning just how close a nuclear World War III could be. Unlike today, both sides sought accommodation. They understood that a retreat from war was in their mutual interest. The Anti-Ballistic Missile and the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces treaties, now scrapped, were negotiated. Back then, an international peace movement with a robust US contingent amplified the demand for a peaceful world. Such voices are much diminished now.

Russia Says Ukraine’s Conditions For Peace Summit Are Not Acceptable

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov reiterated his country’s unwillingness to engage with Ukraine on the basis of the peace formula proposed by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. He alleged that Zelensky’s proposals were “illusory” and said that it was clear that “Kiev is not ready for the dialogue,” RT reported on Thursday, December 29. Earlier this week, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dymtro Kuleba proposed a peace summit in February under the leadership of United Nations Secretary General António Guterres. In an interview with the AP published on Tuesday, Kuleba said that such a peace summit may include Russia only after it faces an international tribunal for its alleged war crimes in Ukraine and agrees to pay remuneration for Ukrainian losses.

Biden Has An ‘Off-Ramp’ On Ukraine

A Rose has bloomed In the Blinken/Sullivan/Biden desert of ideas on Ukraine. I refer to Rose Gottemoeller, 69, who was Under Secretary of State for Arms Control during the Obama/Biden second term and knows much more about the real world than the boys Biden has in the back room (if I may risk damning her with faint praise). Looking for adults in the room? Gottemoeller could be the woman of the hour, if Biden’s ivy-mantled advisers would stop preening, sit down, and listen. Writing in The Financial Times two weeks ago, Gottemoeller referred to the "quiet bargain" that ended the Cuban missile crisis of exactly 60 years ago. As for Ukraine, she dismisses military options: Which brings us to diplomacy. Is there any chance that negotiation could change Putin’s calculus? The Cuban missile crisis ended with a quiet bargain … some quiet nuclear diplomacy might produce results.

World Peace And Relief For Ukrainians Must Guide Early Resolution Of Crisis

For most people worldwide, the most obvious aspect of the new crisis that has gripped our already deeply troubled planet is that the war should end immediately. Such a strong feeling is based on concerns of world peace as well on reducing the distress of people of Ukraine. At the same time the wider and longer-term aspects of the crisis cannot be ignored. Eminent academic Richard Falk, Professor Emeritus of International Law at Princeton University has suggested very rightly that the Ukraine crisis should be seen to be consisting of not one but three wars at three levels— Russia-Ukraine war,  USA-Russia war and Western Ukraine—Donbass region war. Lasting peace will come if all three wars end.

Russia-Ukraine Talks To Continue Despite Bucha Setback

Amidst increasing Western outrage against Russia over allegations of genocide in Ukraine’s north-eastern Bucha region, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky emphasized on Tuesday, April 5, that the ongoing talks between both the countries will continue. Russia had denied its involvement in the killings and claimed that it was a false provocation meant to destroy the prospects of peace in the region. Zelensky claimed that ending the talks now would prevent both countries from finding a solution to the present conflict and further prolong it. Talks are only hope to “find a way out of the situation and not to lose our territory,” he was reported as saying in the Ukrainian media.

Tensions Rise At Third Round Of Stalled Government-Opposition Negotiations

Mérida – The Venezuelan government and US-backed opposition held a third round of talks in Mexico City over the weekend amid increasing friction. The weekend negotiations followed “fruitful” encounters in August and early September. Following previous sessions, the two parties signed a Memorandum of Understanding, opposition politician Freddy Guevara was released from prison, a number of hardliners signed up to participate in the upcoming November 21 elections and US $5.1 billion was transferred to the country’s international reserves by the International Monetary Fund. The talks bring together representatives of the Nicolás Maduro government and Juan Guaidó bloc under the banner of the self-styled Unitary Platform. More moderate opposition sectors and leftwing opponents were not invited.