MOSCOW, July 15 — More than two years after Russian forces crossed into Ukraine, the diplomatic track remains frozen. Officials confirmed that no formal peace negotiations have taken place between Moscow and Kyiv since May 2022, leaving the conflict’s trajectory in the hands of battlefield commanders rather than envoys. The last known rounds of talks occurred in the war’s opening months.
According to the record, delegations met in Belarus in February and March 2022, followed by a high-profile round in Istanbul in March of that year. Those discussions, which at one point appeared to yield tentative progress on issues such as Ukraine’s neutral status, ultimately collapsed.
Neither side has returned to the table since.
Zelenskyy’s peace formula and the Swiss summit
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy presented a 10-point peace formula in November 2022. The plan, according to the statement, calls for the restoration of Ukraine’s territorial integrity and the withdrawal of Russian troops, among other provisions. Kyiv has insisted that this framework must form the basis of any future settlement, a position that Moscow has rejected.
In June 2024, Switzerland hosted a peace summit that gathered representatives from 90 countries. The event was notable for what it excluded: Russia was not invited.
Officials confirmed that the gathering sought to build international support for Zelenskyy’s principles, but without direct Russian participation, the summit produced no breakthrough toward a ceasefire or a negotiated end to the war.
Territorial realities and the outlook
As of August 2024, Russian forces controlled approximately 18 percent of Ukrainian territory, according to available assessments. That figure represents a significant territorial gain since the invasion’s outset, though the front lines have shifted relatively little in the subsequent months. Analysts predict the war may continue into 2025, with both sides entrenched in their positions.
The strategic context suggests that neither Moscow nor Kyiv sees a military solution as imminent, yet neither has shown willingness to compromise on core demands. For Ukraine, that means no negotiation while Russian troops remain on its soil.
For Russia, any settlement must reflect the territorial gains already secured. What to watch next. The absence of a diplomatic channel leaves the conflict in a state of prolonged attrition.
Without a new initiative that can bridge the gap between Zelenskyy’s territorial integrity demands and Moscow’s insistence on holding captured land, the war appears set to grind on. Whether any third party can revive the negotiating track—and on what terms—remains the open question.
