Russia-Ukraine Negotiations

Ceding territory to Russia in exchange for Nato membership could be a solution to ending the war, the chief of staff for Nato’s Secretary-General has said. At a panel debate in Arendal, Norway on Tuesday Stian Jenssen argued that it was important to discuss Ukraine’s security arrangements after the war ended. In comments reported by Norway’s most read newspaper, VG, Jenssen reiterated the official Nato line that it ultimately lay with Ukraine to decide when and how it would negotiate. But his proposal for territorial secession is beyond anything that his boss, Jens Stoltenberg, has discussed publicly...

The head of the NATO alliance says it is up to Ukraine to decide on when and under what conditions to begin any negotiations on ending the war with Russia after comments by a senior colleague on the subject resulted in a backlash. Speaking at a conference in the Norwegian town of Arendal, Jens Stoltenberg said: “It is the Ukrainians, and only the Ukrainians, who can decide when there are conditions in place for negotiations and who can decide at the negotiating table what is an acceptable solution”...

<excerpt> “I think the time has come to realistically call for peace talks. I know President Zelenskyy doesn’t want it,” Harris told his town hall crowd. “But President Zelenskyy, without our help, he would abjectly lose the war. And with our help, he’s not winning. It’s a stalemate now." </excerpt>

Ukrainian Energy Minister German Galushchenko said on Wednesday Kyiv will not join in talks with Russia about a renewal of the contract for the transit of Russian gas through Ukrainian territory which is due to expire next year. "We will not be a party at the talks with the Russians for sure, it's absolutely obvious," he told the Ukrainian service of U.S. broadcaster Voice Of America...

Stian Jennsen, the chief of staff to the NATO secretary-general, made a surprising statement Tuesday about how the war in Ukraine could end. “I think that a solution could be for Ukraine to give up territory" to Russia, he told a debate panel in Norway, “and get NATO membership in return"... Experts say that Jennsen’s remarks most likely reflect a growing pessimism over Ukraine’s odds of completely expelling Russia from its territory. Jennsen isn’t saying that Ukraine should give up territory, but his remarks might reflect how some people behind closed doors are thinking about it as a possibility given Russia’s entrenchment. His remarks could have the effect of weakening Ukraine’s negotiating position — but they could also be a realistic preview of the future....

Josep Borrell, the EU’s foreign policy chief, is eyeing a ministerial-level meeting in late September to discuss peace in Ukraine. Speaking at a press conference in the Spanish town of Santander on Monday, Borrell said officials were “working on” a “high-level gathering” that will “probably take place” in September... According to an EU official, Borrell was referring to a plan to upgrade a meeting at the political directors’ level on the margins of the U.N. General Assembly in New York to a ministerial...

The West’s hesitation in supplying all necessary weapons systems to Ukraine, driven by fear of escalation, has been costly and a different approach could have changed the course of the war, the EU’s chief diplomat Josep Borrell said on Monday (21 August). “When one decides to help a militarily invaded country (…) hesitating can be a very costly response,” Borrell said, speaking at a summer seminar in the Spanish town of Santander alongside Austrian Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg and Lithuanian counterpart Gabrielius Landsbergis...

A Short History of Russia, by Mark Galeotti

Putin’s People, by Catherine Belton

The Future is History: How Totalitarianism Reclaimed Russia, by Masha Gessen

Red Army, by Ralph Peters

Day of the Oprichnik, by Vladimir Sorokin

Russia’s War, by Jade McGlynn