Throughout history, diplomacy has played a crucial role in shaping international relationships, building alliances, and resolving conflicts. Diplomacy has once again become crucial in finding resolutions to the ongoing conflicts in the world. In 2025, the major global conflicts include the Russia-Ukraine war, Israel-Hamas war, several skirmishes in Africa, and impending geo-political tensions in East Asia, especially in the Taiwan straits.
The Russia-Ukraine war, which began in 2022, has become a major geopolitical crisis of the 21st century in Europe. Ukraine has endured serious setbacks and hardships in the conflict despite the support of Western allies. The Russian military has also suffered a considerable number of deaths and injuries. As of March 2025, while Russia controls some 20 percent of Ukraine’s land, Ukraine also controls part of the Kursk region in Russia. The two armies fight each other every day, which takes a heavy toll on human lives on each side. The US, Europe, and other countries such as Türkiye, China, and some African countries had utilized a combination of diplomatic, economic, and military strategies to resolve the crisis. However, none of these initiatives have worked so far. The new US administration has now sought to advance peace negotiation between Russia, Ukraine and their allies. Now, an opportunity for a negotiated peace settlement through diplomacy has opened up.
The cost of war
The seeds of Russian-Ukraine conflict were sown following Russia’s annexation of Crimea in 2014. Ukraine aspired to be one of NATO's members, but it was met with strong opposition from Russia because Russia did not want to see NATO coming to its borders. By February 2022, Russian forces launched an invasion in Ukraine to deter it from joining NATO and also alleging that Russian speakers in Ukraine were being targeted and harassed by the Ukrainian state. In response to the 2022 attack, Western nations, led by the United States, imposed strict sanctions on Russia, and armed Ukraine. As Russian forces advanced, the Ukrainian resistance was made possible with the strong weaponry and financial support from the West, especially from the US. However, as the war has entered the fourth year with no sign of peace in near future, the US is saying that the continuing loss of life on both sides of the conflict is unacceptable, and a peace agreement between the conflicting sides is preferred. The US is taking the initiative to seek a diplomatic resolution of the war and work towards a peace deal.
US initiative towards peace
The Trump administration is reversing the US policy of continuing to militarily support Ukraine and now wishes for a negotiation towards the end of the conflict. The US is now actively pushing Russia, Ukraine and Europe to find a resolution to the ongoing war and start peace negotiations. A formal meeting between President Trump and Ukrainian President Zelenskyy in the Oval Office in February 2025, showed the divergent perspectives held by the US and Ukraine on this issue. The US asserted that Ukraine is not working strongly enough to secure peace, and as a result, the bi-national conflict continues to spiral out of control. The US has also advised Russia that if it does not seek a peace agreement, and continues the attacks, the US will consider imposing even tougher sanctions against Russia. The global implications of the new diplomatic landscape have been profound. The Ukrainian leadership is back at the negotiating table in Saudi Arabia meeting with US officials discussing how to end the war. Earlier in mid-February, the US and Russian officials had also met in Saudi Arabia to begin the initial discussions for peace talks.
President Trump has repeatedly stated that he does not want to see the constant bloodshed faced by both Ukraine and Russia. He is reiterating that peace should be in everyone’s interest. The evolving US initiative towards resolving the Russia-Ukraine conflict had initially left Europe off-guard. However, the European leaders, especially the leaders of the UK and France, have been meeting to discuss how Europe can step up its defense expenditures and provide commensurate financial and military support to NATO. Even during his first term, President Trump had indicated that European countries were not paying their commensurate share for NATO’s expenditures. In 2025, this message became even more loud and clear with demand to increase defense spending from two percent of their GDP to five percent. Currently, European countries are not even hitting the two percent mark in defense expenditures.
A new opportunity for diplomacy
Once again, diplomacy is emerging as an important approach to resolve a major conflict. It remains to be seen how much these initiatives will succeed, as there are divergent points of view among Ukraine, Russia, Europeans, and Americans on how to secure peace in the Ukraine-Russia conflict. Major areas of contention include what happens to the Ukrainian territory held by the Russian forces, and what kind of security guarantees will be available to the two countries so that the war does not occur in future. Additional areas of negotiation include Ukraine’s bid for NATO and EU membership, Russia’s claim about the treatment of Russian speaking people in Ukraine, possible neutrality of Ukraine, and commitment by Russia that it would not initiate any future conflicts. Further areas where diplomatic negotiations will focus are also likely to include the rebuilding of Ukraine that has been adversely impacted by the war, US-Ukraine agreements in collaborative mining of rare earth in Ukraine, and the future of the sanctions that have been imposed by the West to Russia. Also, possibly, as part of negotiations are discussions between the US and Russia about normalizing relations and cooperating in trade and investment. In addition, the future of Ukraine’s relationships with other European countries, US, and Russia are also perhaps important items for the negotiation agenda.
Conclusion
The evolving situation related to the Russia-Ukraine conflict highlights the need for possible diplomatic resolution of conflicts. It also underscores the heightened value of diplomacy, as the conflict continues unabated as both sides have not actively sought to resolve the underlying issues through discussions. As geopolitical dynamics related to the US foreign policy and US-led alliances quickly shift towards pragmatism, the decisions made by global leaders in the coming months will determine the fate of the Russia-Ukraine war, including a possible peaceful resolution. While diplomacy remains a crucial tool in resolving conflicts, its effectiveness depends on coordinated efforts among allies and partners and the willingness of the warring parties to seek a diplomatic resolution and abide by any peace agreement. For Ukraine and Russia, there is now a plausible opening for new diplomatic approaches to resolve the conflict and seek a long-lasting peace between them and in the region.