By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent Worthy News
MOSCOW/BEIJING/BUDAPEST (Worthy News) – More video evidence emerged this weekend of Russia readying for peace talks with Ukraine as hundreds of thousands were killed and injured since Moscow invaded the country in February last year.
Speaking in China, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said Moscow is preparing to have talks on the “post-conflict settlement” of the war in Ukraine.
Shoigu spoke at the recent Beijing Xiangshan Forum, China’s most significant military diplomacy event.
He said Russia is also ready for talks on further “co-existence” with the West but added that Western countries should stop seeking the “strategic defeat” of his country.
The prospect of peace talks between Kyiv and Moscow has been raised multiple times since Russian President Vladimir Putin launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in a war he still calls “a special military operation.”
Yet the defense minister’s remarks suggested that Moscow seeks an end to Europe’s bloodiest conflict in more than 80 years.
The Kremlin had specified a few conditions that were non-negotiable for Russia, including that Ukraine must accept the September 2022 annexation of four of its regions—Luhansk, Donetsk, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhia.
CONTROVERSIAL REFERENDUMS
They were annexed after referendums deemed illegal by the international community, with voters casting ballots near gunmen.
Ukraine has said that any peace deal must invalidate the September 2022 annexations of its territory and that the Crimean Peninsula, which Putin annexed in 2014, must once again be considered part of Ukraine.
However, pressure is mounting on Kyiv to compromise with growing opposition within the United States and Europe against continuing spending billions on Ukraine’s military.
The European Union is also struggling to send enough ammunition to Ukraine.
Additionally, Kyiv’s counter-offensive has made slow progress with the armed conflict in several areas increasingly resembling the trenches fighting of World War One.
It remains unclear whether both sides could accept a United Nations peacekeeping mission overseeing territories captured by Moscow that would receive far-reaching autonomy as among compromises to end the bloodshed.
For now, with Christmas approaching, the region remains far from peaceful.
Copyright 1999-2025 Worthy News. This article was originally published on Worthy News and was reproduced with permission.
Latest News from Worthy News
A large mass protest dubbed the “Trillion Peso March” was underway in the Philippine capital Manila Sunday amid mounting anger over alleged government corruption involving billions of pesos in flood control projects.
President Donald Trump officially designated Antifa a domestic terror organization Monday evening, allowing the federal government to “utilize all applicable authorities to investigate, disrupt, and dismantle any and all illegal operations.”
China is preparing to evacuate 400,000 people as Super Typhoon Ragasa barrels toward its southeastern coast, after slamming the Philippines and Taiwan with destructive winds, torrential rains, and life-threatening storm surges.
The row over Bagram Air Base has escalated sharply, with U.S. President Donald Trump warning of “bad things” if the site is not returned to American control and Taliban leaders vowing to resist any attempt to reclaim it.
Three Russian military jets violated NATO military alliance member Estonia’s airspace for 12 minutes on Friday in an “unprecedentedly brazen” incursion, its government said, prompting Italian F-35 stealth fighters to respond.
he United Nations Security Council is facing sharp criticism after scheduling a meeting on the Gaza war for Tuesday afternoon–directly overlapping with the Jewish holiday of Rosh Hashanah.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has introduced new global health regulations that critics warn will lead to more global surveillance.