On January 9, the Veza Center for Public Analytics hosted an online roundtable with leading experts, including Valerii Klychok, Nataliia Butyrska (Asia-Pacific affairs), Volodymyr Fesenko (political analyst), and Illia Skhodovskyi (economist, financier). The goal was to review key developments: the course of Ukraine’s ongoing peace talks, security guarantee proposals, the roles of the US and Europe, and the issue of holding elections after the war.
Experts noted a significant meeting in Paris of the “Coalition of the Willing”, where a declaration on Ukraine’s security guarantees was adopted. Both the US and Europe are developing respective concepts for security. The discussion highlighted differences between the American and European positions, and Russia’s cautious approach of setting new demands in the negotiation process.
The participants emphasized the US’s critical role in shaping future peace deal parameters, while also noting the internal political situation in Russia as a factor. The European side is gradually increasing its participation, reviewing both its own security guarantees and the construction of a new European security architecture. For now, developments remain at the framework agreement stage.
A separate topic was the ongoing debate in Ukraine about the feasibility of holding elections after the cessation of martial law and the signing of a peace agreement. Experts argued that elections are not possible before hostilities end, and that holding a referendum on territorial matters is likely a tactical move, allowing Ukraine to maintain agency in negotiations.
Specialists also noted key challenges: the US position, Russian pressure, European interests, the dynamics inside Russia, future Chinese involvement, and the complexity of implementing a peace agreement and constitutional changes. Overall, experts agreed that real progress in the peace process is slow; it depends ultimately on whether Russia is ready for genuine negotiations and compromise.
Finally, participants stressed that Ukraine must shape its policy with international trends in mind and maintain transparency with the public regarding future elections and government legitimacy.
