Now as hope for a peaceful settlement flickers on the horizon, more efforts, particularly bona fide efforts, are needed for bridging differences, building consensus and crafting solutions that genuinely alleviate security concerns on all sides.
by Xinhua writer Wang Nan
BEIJING, March 20 (Xinhua) -- With talks tentatively beginning to gain momentum, a peaceful resolution to the prolonged Ukraine crisis seems no longer a pure illusion.
Over the past few days, U.S. President Donald Trump had separate telephone conversations with his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
The calls produced limited outcomes, such as a readiness to end the conflict and a temporary halt to attacks on energy facilities. Putin demanded that Kiev not join NATO, while Zelensky stressed territorial redlines. Meanwhile, Trump wants the United States to control Ukraine's nuclear power plants, calling it necessary to protect the war-weary country.
Although there are more tough nuts to crack, at least the preliminary talks could be seen as baby steps toward ending the bloodshed on the battlefield.
The deadly conflict, already in its fourth year, has inflicted too many losses and too much suffering upon both sides, with the world reeling from its shockwaves.
Now as hope for a peaceful settlement flickers on the horizon, more efforts, particularly bona fide efforts, are needed for bridging differences, building consensus and crafting solutions that genuinely alleviate security concerns on all sides.
The alternative would mean further bloodshed, heavier losses, deeper international fractures and direr global consequences.■