Ukrainian expert: Real peace is still a long way off

Talks between the United States and Ukraine serve not so much the achievement of real peace as the delivery of political messages. The main problem is that Russia does not directly participate in the process and the parties are still not ready for mutual concessions.

As “The Daily Baku” reports, Ukrainian political expert Oleksandr Okhrimenko said this while commenting on the talks between US President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

According to the expert, at the current stage this process has more of a political communication character: “Yes, at a certain stage an agreement may be reached on the 20-point plan. But the question is: what happens next? The document will be submitted to the Kremlin, and if Russia does not accept it, the process will reach a dead end.”

Oleksandr Okhrimenko noted that the US side also understands these risks and therefore approaches the process with caution. According to him, Washington supports peace and openly declares that it wants peace, but is not fully confident that this can be achieved immediately. From this perspective, the current talks are mainly political messaging.

The expert stated that the most sensitive issue at present is the territorial question. For Ukraine, this is an extremely painful topic, while Russia insists precisely on this direction. “Real negotiations will only be possible when Kyiv and Moscow sit directly at the table. At present, there are US mediation efforts. American representatives are holding talks with Russia on the one hand and with Ukraine on the other. However, this process takes a long time and tangible results are not immediately visible,” Okhrimenko emphasized.

The expert believes that optimistic expectations that the war will end soon are not yet well-founded: “Ukraine wants the war to end quickly, but in reality the parties are not ready to make concessions. Russia is not retreating, nor is Ukraine abandoning its position. This leads to a prolongation of the conflict.”

Oleksandr Okhrimenko said that European countries continue to provide financial support to Ukraine, which enables Kyiv to continue the war. However, according to him, this assistance is mainly directed to military purposes, while promises regarding reconstruction and economic development have not yet turned into real mechanisms.

“At present, funds are being found for Ukraine to wage war, but there are no real investments for reconstruction and development. The figures voiced in this area are mostly political statements,” the expert noted.