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Ukraine war
OpinionComment
Sameed Basha
Sameed Basha

Opinion | A weary West may push Ukraine to the negotiating table with Russia

  • Western support for a full Ukrainian military victory may be wavering amid dwindling weapons supplies in the US and fears in Europe of a winter freeze
  • The US may instead try to persuade Kyiv to leverage its recent territorial gains to kick-start peace talks with Moscow

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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky delivers a speech via video conference during a Nato summit on Monday. Photo: Ukraine Presidency / Planet Pix via Zuma Press Wire/ dpa
Sameed Basha
With winter quickly approaching, anxiety is growing over whether Russia will act on its elusive threats to turn off the gas and freeze Europe.
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This, along with Russia’s military withdrawal from Kherson and shift in focus to the Donbas region, may finally push US President Joe Biden to bring an unrelenting Volodymyr Zelensky to the negotiating table with Russia’s Vladimir Putin.

Despite the US’ providing unwavering support to Ukraine, Kyiv’s success in liberating captured territory may allow it to negotiate from a position of strength to prevent Russia from further attempts to encroach on the country.

At first glance, Putin may seem like the one unwilling to participate in talks. But instead, preconditions set by Ukraine’s Zelensky – Russia’s retreat from all occupied territories in Ukraine, the removal of Putin from the Kremlin, Russian reparations to be paid to Ukraine – may become obstacles to opening dialogue and ending the war.

Zelensky’s demands certainly have merit but are devoid of realism. None of them will be agreed to by Putin, who has triumphantly annexed four territories, of which two, Donestk and Luhansk, are Russian-speaking and have been controlled by Moscow-backed separatists since 2014.
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It would be in Ukraine’s interest to withdraw its claim to these territories, for the sake of lasting peace. Instead, defeating Russia and humiliating Putin would cause more significant harm; as former US secretary of state Henry Kissinger stated, “it could worsen Europe’s long-term stability”.

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‘Not humiliated,’ says Russia as Ukrainian soldiers retake Kherson amid celebrations

‘Not humiliated,’ says Russia as Ukrainian soldiers retake Kherson amid celebrations
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