The war in Ukraine has proven extraordinarily resistant to diplomatic solutions. Russia and Ukraine have incompatible perceptions of why there is a war, of who the main parties to the conflict are, as well as what constitutes the main issues that would need to be resolved. While the conflict has devastating consequences, there are no signs of an emergent ripeness for resolution through negotiations.
In this seminar, we have gathered a panel of experts specialising on Russian foreign policy, on the relationship between Russia and Ukraine, and on international diplomacy and peace processes. They will address a range of questions, including:
- What are the possible pathways towards the onset of a genuine diplomatic engagement for resolving the conflict?
- What are the main takeaways from other peace processes in which Russia has been a key actor?
- What do we expect to be the relationship between developments on the battlefront and any potential peace process?
The seminar takes place just one day after the conclusion of the the Ukraine Peace Summit, hosted by Switzerland. Russia is not invited. The summit is based on the Ukrainian Peace Formula promoted by President Zelenskyy. We will connect the broader contours of diplomacy over the war in Ukraine to the outcomes of the Switzerland summit.
Panelists
- Roy Allison, Professor and Director of the Russian and East European Studies Centre, University of Oxford
- Anna Arutunyan, Senior Russia Analyst, Mayak Intelligence, London
- Pavel Baev, Research Professor, PRIO
- Kristian Berg Harpviken, Research Professor, PRIO
- Tetiana Kyselova, Senior Fellow (Mediation), Swisspeace
Moderated by Laurie Nathan, Professor of the Practice of Mediation, Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies at the University of Notre Dame.
From the left: Roy Allison, Anna Arutunyan, Pavel Baev, Kristian Berg Harpviken, Tetiana Kyselova. Photo: PRIO / Mieke Löhrer
This event forms part of the project ‘Russian Approaches to Peace Processes’, which is designed to build an understanding of Russia’s diplomatic engagement in conflicts where it has either been a party, a mediator, or both. All contributors are either members of the project’s core research team or on its Advisory Board.
