Greetings,
As Russia’s war in Ukraine stretches into its fourth year, the need for a durable peace settlement — to end the bloodshed, empower Ukraine to rebuild, and develop a functional security framework for Europe — has never been more evident.
But diplomacy is a complex art. Throughout history, even the most vital and urgent negotiations have proven slow and difficult. That’s why the Quincy Institute has spent years advocating for the United States to begin using its considerable leverage to advance direct negotiations with Russia and Ukraine to end this war. And today, as the Trump administration makes a concerted effort to advance negotiations, it’s paramount that they take the sort of deliberate, strategic approach required to construct a peace deal that it’s in all sides best interests to adhere to.
This week, QI Grand Strategy Director George Beebe and Eurasia Director Anatol Lieven debuted a new diplomatic strategy for Washington aimed at just that — harmonizing the complex and competing interests of Ukraine, the U.S., and Russia in negotiations to end the war. A U.S. Peace Plan for Ukraine outlines the likely terms of a successful deal, examines the critical political and practical obstacles to peace, and provides U.S. policymakers with a roadmap to securing a lasting negotiated settlement.
A corresponding research note by Deputy Director of QI’s Better Order Project Zachary Paikin takes a close look at one particularly challenging dynamic: genuine concern in European capitals about their security and strategic position after the war’s conclusion. Getting Europe on Board for a Peace Settlement in Ukraine examines the root of European governments’ status-based and security concerns about negotiations and outlines how the Trump administration can address these concerns and win support for a negotiated settlement from America’s partners in Europe.
At a difficult and divisive time in U.S. politics, when vital questions of war and peace are more likely to be used as partisan cudgels than given the careful consideration they deserve, the Quincy Institute is developing expert diplomatic strategies to help U.S. policymakers prevent and end conflicts.
As the new Pope Leo XIV said last week: "Those who make history are the peacemakers, not those who sow seeds of suffering. Our neighbors are not first our enemies, but our fellow human beings; not criminals to be hated, but other men and women with whom we can speak."
Sincerely,
Trita Parsi
Executive Vice President, Quincy Institute
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