Time to talk peace?

Sign of the times: A road sign in the United States converted to a call for peace, with the colours of the Ukrainian flag. — AP

ON March 7, Russia stated three aims for its invasion of Ukraine: official Ukrainian neutrality, recognition of Russian sovereignty over Crimea, and recognition of the independence of pro-Russian separatist regions in Luhansk and Donetsk.

The United States and Nato (the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation) have not spoken publicly about a final diplomatic settlement, and with President Volodymyr Zelen-skyy’s government focused on maintaining national unity and armed resistance to Russia, Ukraine has publicly stated its positions only in somewhat contradictory bits and pieces. But Zelenskyy, in consultation with the United States and Europe, which are backing Ukraine’s war-fighting capacity, should formulate and state what a reasonable peace settlement would look like.