{"id":2359407,"date":"2024-10-25T07:17:01","date_gmt":"2024-10-25T11:17:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/the-best-way-to-stand-with-ukraine-is-to-push-for-compromise\/"},"modified":"2024-10-25T07:20:48","modified_gmt":"2024-10-25T11:20:48","slug":"the-best-way-to-stand-with-ukraine-is-to-push-for-compromise","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/the-best-way-to-stand-with-ukraine-is-to-push-for-compromise\/","title":{"rendered":"The Best Way To &#8216;Stand With Ukraine&#8217; Is To Push For Compromise"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">24<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fthe-best-way-to-stand-with-ukraine-is-to-push-for-compromise%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2359407&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>The ongoing war in Ukraine, now lasting over\u2063 two and a half years, has resulted \u200bin significant loss of life and injury, affecting \u2063hundreds\u200c of thousands. The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/netanyahu-defies-biden-announces-major-west-bank-move\/\" title=\"Netanyahu challenges Biden, reveals significant West Bank decision.\">situation remains complex<\/a> and entrenched, with the current dynamic characterized by <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/israel-hamas-truce-expires-fighting-resumes\/\" title=\"Israel and Hamas resume fighting as truce expires\">deep-seated mistrust<\/a>, fluctuating military fortunes, and protracted combat in areas such as Vuhledar and\u200c Bakhmut. Negotiations for peace between Ukrainian \u2063President Volodymyr Zelensky\u200d and Russian President Vladimir Putin\u200b seem increasingly unlikely, as both sides feel \u200dcompelled to pursue military objectives rather than diplomatic solutions.<\/p>\n<p>Initially, early talks in the spring\u2064 of 2022 suggested \u2064that\u2064 a resolution might be \u200bachievable. Ukrainian and Russian negotiators discussed possibilities in Turkey and Belarus, including Ukraine&#8217;s potential concession on \u200cNATO membership in exchange for security guarantees. However, the arrival of uncertainty regarding Western support for Ukraine derailed these prospects. Key \u200dWestern leaders, notably from the U.S. and U.K., advised Ukraine against pursuing negotiations \u200cat that time, influencing the Ukrainian government to opt for continued resistance with the backing of Western military aid instead.<\/p>\n<p>This military assistance, amounting to approximately $175 billion\u2063 from the U.S. alone, has played a critical role in enabling Ukraine to\u2062 defend\u200d itself. Nonetheless, it has also complicated Kyiv&#8217;s decision-making, reducing incentives to \u2062negotiate and fostering a tendency to <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\">seek\u200d maximum military victories<\/a>, even amidst difficulties in troop recruitment. As the war persists,\u200b the humanitarian toll\u200b is staggering, with\u200d estimates of around \u20631\u200b million casualties, adding mounting\u2063 pressure on both sides for a\u2063 resolution.<\/p>\n<p>Mistrust is prevalent, particularly \u200dregarding\u2062 the implications of NATO&#8217;s expansion to the east, which Russia cites as a threat. President Putin has portrayed the conflict as a defensive measure against Western encroachment, insisting that any peace agreement \u2062must guarantee Ukraine&#8217;s non-alignment with\u2063 NATO. Conversely, Ukraine is hesitant\u2064 to concede any territorial claims, especially in \u2063contested areas like Donbas and Crimea, fearing that any agreement \u200bmight \u2062not\u2062 be honored by Russia.<\/p>\n<p>Ultimately, the \u200cintertwined interests\u200b and \u200cconcerns of both Ukraine and Russia, along with the\u2063 influence of Western nations, have contributed significantly\u2063 to the ongoing conflict and the challenges hindering a path to peace.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<div>\n<p>More than two and a half years in, the war in Ukraine has taken or crippled hundreds of thousands of lives, with no end in sight. Deep mistrust, changing prospects along the frontlines, and grinding battles like those at Vuhledar and Bakhmut all contribute to driving Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Russian President Vladimir Putin away from the negotiating table. Yet while Russia&rsquo;s invasion is the fundamental cause of the conflict, both Moscow and Ukraine&rsquo;s Western allies have contributed to preventing peace, sometimes intentionally, other times indirectly.<\/p>\n<p>In the first few months of the war, a genuine opportunity for a&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.foreignaffairs.com\/ukraine\/talks-could-have-ended-war-ukraine\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">swift and peaceful resolution<\/a> emerged. Ukrainian and Russian negotiators met in Turkey and Belarus to discuss terms, with Kyiv exploring the idea of rejecting NATO membership and giving up some territory in exchange for multilateral security guarantees &mdash; a proposal that both sides seemed ready to agree to in principle, despite disagreements on some specifics.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Unfortunately, just as these talks were progressing, hesitant Western nations intervened. The U.S. and U.K., in particular, signaled to Ukraine that negotiating with Russia was premature &mdash; an indicator that neither nation was prepared to commit to defend Ukraine as part of a peace deal.&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/interactive\/2024\/06\/15\/world\/europe\/ukraine-russia-ceasefire-deal.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Reports suggest<\/a>&nbsp;then-British Prime Minister Boris Johnson visited Kyiv to communicate to Zelensky that the West was not ready for talks and urged him to push his nation to continue resisting through the promise of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/progressive-democrats-now-have-a-ukraine-problem\/\" title=\"Progressive Democrats Now Have a Ukraine Problem\">continued military aid<\/a>. The negotiations fell apart soon after. We&rsquo;ll never know if disagreements in the proposal would have been resolved, or if Russia would have honored the deal &mdash; but the closest path to peace early in the war was lost.<\/p>\n<h2>Continued Aid Staves Off  Tough Decisions<\/h2>\n<p>That continued military aid &mdash;&nbsp;a&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.crfb.org\/blogs\/congressionally-approved-ukraine-aid-totals-175-billion\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">massive $175 billion authorized<\/a>&nbsp;in response to the conflict to date from the United States alone &mdash;&nbsp;has been an important factor in helping Ukraine defend its territory, but it has also influenced Kyiv&rsquo;s reluctance to pursue diplomacy and staved off difficult decisions. The influx of weapons and promises of military assistance &ldquo;for as long as it takes&rdquo; have encouraged Ukraine to pursue maximized military gains, even as Kyiv&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/2024\/09\/08\/europe\/ukraine-military-morale-desertion-intl-cmd\/index.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">struggles to find fresh conscripts<\/a>&nbsp;to replenish its armed forces.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Without U.S. aid, Ukraine would likely have faced munitions shortages long before running out of potential personnel and faced the difficult choice of making concessions to end the war. Now, the problem is increasingly unavoidable anyway, only with hundreds of billions of dollars in damage done to Ukraine and roughly&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.wsj.com\/world\/one-million-are-now-dead-or-injured-in-the-russia-ukraine-war-b09d04e5\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">1 million people<\/a>&nbsp;killed or wounded as the war has dragged on.<\/p>\n<h2>Concerns and Mistrust<\/h2>\n<p>For its part, Russia has its own concerns it seeks to address, particularly around NATO&rsquo;s eastward expansion, which it views as a security threat. Putin has&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.internationalaffairs.org.au\/australianoutlook\/why-nato-expansion-explains-russias-actions-in-ukraine\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">framed the war<\/a>&nbsp;as a defensive response to Western encroachment on Moscow&rsquo;s sphere of influence. From this perspective, a peace deal would have to include guarantees that Ukraine would not gain NATO membership &mdash;&nbsp;something Ukraine is reluctant to give up, and which NATO has been hesitant to truly offer, outside of vague promises to Kyiv.<\/p>\n<p>Finally, deeply rooted mutual mistrust has fueled the war for so long. Ukraine is unwilling to trust that Russia will respect any peace agreement, especially if it involves territorial concessions in the Donbas or Crimea. Russia, on the other hand, doubts that the West would uphold a commitment to limit NATO or American presence in Ukraine.<\/p>\n<p>Despite maximal claims on both sides, a realistic way forward would need to involve&nbsp;concessions <a href=\"https:\/\/www.atlanticcouncil.org\/blogs\/new-atlanticist\/ending-the-war-in-ukraine-requires-something-for-everyone-to-hate\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">from<\/a> everyone involved.<\/p>\n<h2>Options<\/h2>\n<p>Russia could withdraw from parts of Ukrainian territory occupied after 2022, giving up on some of the provinces they have less control over. Ukraine would need to accept neutral status, standing apart from both NATO and Russia, similar to Austria or Finland &mdash;&nbsp;both prosperous nations &mdash; during the Cold War.<\/p>\n<p>Such a deal would not be easy to sell to any party. Ukraine would be accepting a more neutral position, Russia would lose ground, and the West would likely have to commit to a long-term security role for Ukraine without formal alliance status. Nevertheless, it is the most realistic path towards an end to the fighting.<\/p>\n<p>Both sides face mounting economic and military pressures. Without a shift towards diplomacy, the conflict risks becoming an even more entrenched stalemate, with dire consequences for Ukraine and the region &mdash; or a disastrous escalation by either side to try and change the landscape on the battlefield.<\/p>\n<p>Russia has not been willing to pursue peace in good faith. Nevertheless, if both sides are willing to move beyond their current positions and engage in tough compromises, there remains hope that a stable peace can be achieved. What is clear is that military victory is unlikely for either side, and the current path towards endless war will only bring further destruction to Ukrainians and Russians caught in the crossfire.<\/p>\n<hr>\n<p>      Robert Clarke is the director of marketing strategy for foreign policy at Stand Together. Follow him on X at @ClarkeDynamics.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The ongoing war in Ukraine has caused immense suffering, with no resolution in sight<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3487,"featured_media":2359409,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/52005231949_1f713b73fc_k-e1729628199572.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[546],"tags":[7304,4228,43701],"class_list":["post-2359407","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-federalist","tag-compromise","tag-peace","tag-standwithukraine"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/52005231949_1f713b73fc_k-e1729628199572.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2359407","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3487"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2359407"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2359407\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2359409"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2359407"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2359407"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2359407"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}