There will be some hard diplomatic work ahead, but at least the long process of negotiation is finally about to start

Negotiations were first high-level talks on the conflict since early months of Vladimir Putin’s invasion

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia (AP) — Russia and the U.S. agreed Tuesday to start working toward ending the war in Ukraine and improving their diplomatic and economic ties, the two countries’ top diplomats said after talks that reflected an extraordinary about-face in U.S. foreign policy under President Donald Trump.

In all but name, the Ukraine War is over—and further NATO expansion is likely over, too. Only time will tell if Russia is content with this resolution.

Balancing Ukraine’s sovereignty with Russia’s demand for its own “security guarantees” promises to be the hardest part of any negotiation. But experts see possible compromises.

Congressional Democrats are opposed but won’t offer any alternative

President Trump has stated that he has begun to work with Russian President Vladimir Putin to put an end the war between Ukraine and Russia “immediately.” Yet to do so, he will need to think and act outside the stereotypes of narrow neo-conservative and neo-liberal thinking that have governed the post-Cold War era.

Trump running the risk of following previous presidents’ failed ‘peace through strength’ formula in Ukraine

The Ukrainian authorities are rounding up recruits. Relatives huddle at a center on the edge of Kyiv for a chance to see loved ones before they’re shipped to war.

First came the collapse of the Soviet Union, then an economic crisis and now the Russian invasion: Ukraine’s population has been dropping for some time. Putin’s war has turned the crisis into a catastrophe. An area in northern Ukraine provides a case study.