POLITICO: Munich summit highlights stalemate in Russia-Ukraine peace talks

For the past three years, the annual Munich Security Conference has served as a key venue for negotiations over the Russia-Ukraine war. This year, the gathering underscores just how stalled the peace process remains.

Dozens of world leaders, including Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, French President Emmanuel Macron, and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, are convening at the historic Bayerischer Hof hotel. Yet European officials caution that few concrete outcomes are expected beyond expressions of solidarity, POLITICO reports.

The US has indicated it will not finalize security guarantees for Ukraine until Kyiv and Moscow reach an overall agreement to end the war, according to European and US officials. Territory remains the “main sticking point,” as Russia insists on controlling the entirety of the Donbas region, including areas it has not yet captured. “Both sides are pretty dug in, but I think everyone feels that there’s a path forward,” said a senior US official, speaking on condition of anonymity.

President Donald Trump’s administration is seeking to solidify agreements before formalizing security guarantees, prioritizing stability over hasty signatures. Trump’s special envoy for peace missions, Steve Witkoff, is balancing diplomacy on both Ukraine and Iran, making shuttle talks challenging. “We still have not seen a single indication that Russia is serious, either about peace talks or the outcomes,” Latvia’s Foreign Minister Baiba Braže said.

Zelenskyy plans to use the summit to call for greater pressure on Russia, highlight Ukraine’s air defense needs, and showcase its efforts to export weapons to fund drone production. “We are ready to open a lot of joint productions. There are also several aid packages that I personally hope to discuss, my contact with partners needed there,” he said. Kyiv is seeking more funding for NATO’s Prioritized Ukraine Requirements List, supported by three-quarters of alliance members.

Despite the stalemate, trilateral discussions between the US, Russia, and Ukraine continue, with a possible meeting next week in Miami or Abu Dhabi. Ivanna Klympush-Tsintsadze, chair of Ukraine’s EU integration committee, emphasized that “Russia can only be pressured and forced into peace,” while Giedrimas Jeglinskas, a Lithuanian lawmaker, noted that continued sanctions and revenue restrictions provide Kyiv a potential path forward: “Ukraine needs to persevere until Russia cracks,” he said, even amid ongoing air attacks on energy infrastructure.

The Munich conference thus highlights both the fragility of diplomacy and the enduring determination of Ukraine and its allies to seek a resolution despite deep divisions over territory and security.

By Vafa Guliyeva