Ukraine war will not end: Paris talks signal collapse of diplomacy with Moscow

Russia’s current war against Ukraine cannot be ended by diplomacy conducted in French palaces — and Trump’s team is starting to realize it.

First of all, it’s absurd to fly to Paris to negotiate “peace opportunities for Ukraine” right after imposing tariffs. And then brag about how everyone is calling you and trying to kiss your ass. Europeans aren't so much angered by the trade wars themselves — they’re good at those — but by the sheer dismissiveness.

Simple diplomacy over Ukraine has officially died in Bozas. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has already hinted at the likely end of U.S. diplomatic efforts on Ukraine. As expected, he stated that if negotiations fail to bring an end to the war, the United States should stop wasting time and move on.

Before leaving Paris, the politician, who is pretty sympathetic towards Ukraine, said that if both sides were serious about peace, they wanted to help; otherwise, they would move on. He added that if their efforts to stop the war in Ukraine failed within a few days, they would inform President Trump that negotiations were no longer a viable option.

This raises an important question: how can Ukraine stay on the radar of the United States while Donald Trump’s team nervously searches for new grandiose projects?

The Paris talks involving the Ukrainian and Russian delegations are very likely to collapse completely. That’s why we must avoid falling into anti-Americanism and instead continue trying to reach out to Trump. It wasn’t Washington that failed the peace talks — it was Putin, and Putin alone.

First and foremost, we still need to finalize what’s known as the rare earths agreement. The government has published the text of a memorandum outlining a deal with the United States on mineral resources. It includes provisions for joint U.S.-Ukrainian investment in the freedom and security of the Ukrainian people. Importantly, it also stresses that this agreement should in no way interfere with Ukraine’s future European integration. This is finally a moment when we can breathe a sigh of relief — and say thank you for the presence of non-toxic figures like Yulia Svyrydenko and Taras Kachka representing Ukraine in the United States.

Second, even Trump — despite his constant talk about being "friends" with Putin — has extended some of Joe Biden’s sanctions. So far, Russia has not received, and will not receive, any significant concessions because they have refused to sign a truce. All the "goodies" on the table are conditional — and Putin is not willing to stop bombing peaceful cities with cluster munitions.

Meanwhile, what Trump is doing with tariffs around the world looks less like trade policy and more like a global census of China’s allies. He’s testing who will stick with the United States and who won’t — who will be rewarded with defense contracts and market access, and who will be left clinging to China’s orbit.

All of this can be seen as preparation for upcoming U.S. negotiations with China. It’s no coincidence that Trump recently called Chinese leader Xi Jinping a “friend” — just as he basically started a trade war with Beijing.

“Oh sure, he’s a friend of mine. I like him,” Trump said in the Oval Office when asked by a reporter whether he would like to meet with Xi. If such a meeting happens, the Ukrainian issue will certainly be on the table.

Meanwhile, Putin is not preparing for peace — he’s preparing for a bloody harvest timed to the Christian holidays. In Sumy, a company that baked Easter cakes was destroyed. In Kharkiv, cluster bombs rained down on a residential neighborhood. While some are busy growing their ratings in greenhouses and fighting political rivals, Putin is betting everything on a hot military summer. He needs to crush Ukraine while Witkoff is still promising Trump lavish commercial deals and oil prices remain at a decent level.

At the same time, Trump is giving himself until the end of April to try to break Putin’s position. Every American president starts by declaring a desire to improve relations with Russia — and every one of them ends up facing the same reality: how to escape Russia’s lies and do the right thing. Trump, despite all his claims of being unique and following a "special path," is no exception.

Exclusively for Espreso TV

About the author: Maryna Danyliuk-Yarmolaieva, journalist

The editorial team does not always share the opinions expressed by the blog authors.