The Ukrainian Center for Independent Political Research team and the analytical initiative War: Observe presented a study entitled "Ukraine in the new reality of negotiations: assessment of existing peace negotiation formats."
The study was presented at the Ukraine Crisis Media Center.
As Valeriia Skvortsova, executive director of the UCIPR, noted, the idea for the study arose in June last year after the first Peace Summit. It aimed to analyze the negotiation processes for ending the Russian-Ukrainian war, considering various political perspectives.
"The geopolitical reality is changing very rapidly, as is the role of our partners and political players. The US elections have significantly impacted these negotiation processes, and now we see that the US is leading the negotiation initiative. Therefore, we included an analysis of the US negotiation initiative in the study," explained the co-author.
According to her, 21 Ukrainian and international experts were invited to participate in the survey. They assessed the summit's format, strengths and weaknesses, the prospect of Russia's participation, the challenges that Ukraine and its international partners may face with Russia's potential involvement in the dialogue, etc.
War: Observe analyst and co-author of the study, Bohdana Bondarenko, reported on mechanisms to counter Russian manipulation, which will become an integral part of her negotiating position.
"To counter these manipulations, it is necessary to warn the international community about possible provocations by Russia, involve countries like Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the UAE in stabilizing the energy market, and strengthen military-industrial cooperation with countries outside NATO. And, of course, limit the influence of Russian media and disinformation by coordinating information policy with partner countries and strengthening expert diplomacy," the analyst added.
The moderator of the event, international journalist Yehor Brailian, emphasized that European countries actively seek to join the negotiation process.
"Why is Turkey important? This is where the negotiations were held in March 2022, and we see that three rounds of negotiations have already been held this year in Turkey. The American perspective is important because the US also wants to be involved. However, there are specific issues with the Trump administration, and it is also important to see what Russia wants to achieve through these negotiations," he stressed.
According to Taras Zhovtenko, executive director of the Ilko Kucheriv Democratic Initiatives Foundation, when the Russian-American track of negotiations began, European countries initially faced the risk of being left out. Still, it quickly became clear that the formula for peaceful settlement and ending the Russian-Ukrainian war that Donald Trump envisions cannot ignore Europe's position.
"Donald Trump understood, and the leaders of the coalition of the willing helped him in this, that without agreement with the Europeans on at least the format of how practical real security guarantees will be provided to Ukraine, how the same deterrent forces will act, and what the role of the United States of America as a whole will be in this process, it is practically impossible to implement Trump's strategic formula for peace," the expert noted.
The event was also attended by:
- Yanosh Hryshchenko, an advisor to the South Caucasus and Turkey Division of the Second Territorial Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine.
- Oleksandr Kraiev, director of the North America program at the Ukrainian Prism Foreign Policy Council.
- Vadym Denysenko, Doctor of Historical Sciences, journalist, political scientist, editor-in-chief of the publication "Business Capital."
- Philippe Lefevre, Associate at the Centre for Britain and Europe