Peace talks

If the West wants to avoid more instability in the post-Soviet space it must ensure that any accommodation in the Caucasus directly addresses the needs of the 120,000 ethnic Armenians in Nagorno-Karabakh.

In theory these talks aim to resolve a simmering conflict between two smallish countries in the South Caucasus, on the table is no less than a microcosm of the global clash between democracy and tyranny.

Several rounds of peace talks last year failed to produce results due to Ukraine and Russia's incompatible demands about certain territories.

Aiding Russia with weapons would ruin China's credibility as a potential peacemaker, one expert told Newsweek.

"This is the beginning of the collapse of the Soviet empire," said the high-level Ukrainian.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry released a peace proposal ahead of President Xi Jinping's anticipated "peace speech" before the United Nations on Friday.

Chinese President Xi Jinping is set to give a "peace speech" to the United Nations on the one-year anniversary of the Ukraine war.

A peace proposal reportedly submitted on behalf of Biden in mid-January offered Russia territory the size of Ukraine's eastern Donbas region.

Russia has repeatedly accused Kyiv and its partners of blocking peace talks while itself refusing to relinquish occupied Ukrainian territory.

Calls for creating an off-ramp are harmful to Ukraine's fight against its invaders and—importantly—completely unnecessary: The Russian propaganda machine responsible for propagating the invasion's false justifications is fully capable of creating an off-ramp for itself whenever it deems it necessary.

Eleven months into Russia's full-scale invasion, key actors appear to be looking for ways to end the fighting.

Russia and Ukraine will agree to a cease-fire when both sides "understand that they are not moving anywhere," said the senior German Army officer.

Volodymyr Zelensky put forward a 10-step "peace formula" during a virtual address to world leaders at the Group of 20 summit in Bali, Indonesia last month.

Kissinger's recent essay warns against continued aggression against Russia due to the potential of another world war.

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said Wednesday that Ukraine must accept the "modern reality" of occupation.

"We are all adults and we are well aware that war depletes the Russian state in every way," said Kremlin propagandist Olga Skabeyeva.

Russian rhetoric has escalated as the Ukrainian president is likely to request additional security aid.

Russia previously demanded that Ukraine recognize its annexed territory as a prerequisite for peace talks.

Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Vershinin blamed Kyiv for failed peace talks and lamented its "totally aggressive" military conduct.

Russia won't accept President Joe Biden's requirement that Russian forces withdraw completely from Ukraine before any negotiations.

"I understand that it's strategically important for us to drag out this situation," the politician said of the negotiations with Ukraine.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky previously said that Ukraine is "ready for a dialogue with Russia, but with another president of Russia."

An adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Ukraine "never refused to negotiate" an end to the Ukraine conflict.

"It's a test—they want to see how close the West would be to actually engaging with them," Northwestern's William Reno told Newsweek.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said the West needs to "take into account the interests" of Moscow to start talks to end the blood conflict.

Under Musk's peace deal, Crimea, a region Russia annexed in 2014, would formally become part of Russia.

Russia faced criticism last week at the United Nations General Assembly for its aggression in Ukraine.

Former member of Russia's Parliament Boris Nadezhdin, while speaking on State TV, said it was impossible for Russia to defeat Ukraine.

Dmitry Medvedev's comments come after Russian troops were forced to retreat from key cities in Ukraine over the weekend.

Ukrainian leaders reiterated their demands at a summit in Kyiv this weekend.