Putin Signals Openness to Peace Talks, Ukraine Weighs Negotiations

In a meeting with China’s top envoy, Putin conveyed his willingness to explore peace options, according to a readout from the Russian foreign ministry. This comes amid a shift in Ukrainian public opinion; a July poll by the Razumkov Center found that 44 percent of Ukrainians now support peace talks, nearly double the figure from May 2023. However, 76 percent of Ukrainians believe Putin would only agree to a deal on his own terms.

Putin, speaking in Saint Petersburg, also looked forward to meeting his “friend” Chinese President Xi Jinping at the upcoming BRICS summit in Kazan next month. He praised the long-standing diplomatic relationship between Russia and China, calling it “mutually beneficial and equitable.”

Regarding Ukraine, Putin reiterated Russia’s openness to peace talks and indicated support for a six-point peace plan proposed earlier this year by China and Brazil. Unlike the broader 12-point plan introduced by China in early 2023, this joint proposal outlines specific steps for achieving peace, including de-escalation and restraint from expanding the conflict. It emphasizes that “dialogue and negotiation” are the only “viable” solutions and suggests that both Ukraine and Russia should participate in an international peace summit at a mutually agreed time.

China had previously declined to attend a June peace conference in Switzerland organized by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, citing the absence of a Russian invitation as the reason. However, China remains committed to pursuing a peace settlement and is engaging with “rational and balanced voices” in the international community, according to Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi.

Both Russia and Ukraine have set preconditions for peace talks. Ukraine demands the full withdrawal of Russian forces from its territory, including Crimea, which Russia annexed in 2014. Kyiv also seeks reparations, accountability for war crimes, and assurances of its sovereignty. Conversely, Putin insists that Ukraine must accept the loss of the Russian-occupied territories of Donetsk, Luhansk, and Crimea, and abandon its NATO membership bid.

During a recent visit to Beijing, then-Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba told Wang Yi that Russia was not yet prepared for “good faith” negotiations. Despite positioning itself as a neutral party, China has refrained from condemning Russia’s invasion and continues to support its “no limits” partner both diplomatically and economically, while censoring criticism of the war on Chinese social media.

China has also indirectly criticized Ukraine’s counteroffensive operations within Russian border regions, framing them as “fueling the flame,” and has echoed Moscow’s narrative that NATO is to blame for provoking the conflict. Over the past two years, China has been a key economic and diplomatic ally for Russia, maintaining robust trade relations, especially in natural gas and oil. However, U.S. secondary sanctions this year have complicated trade, leading cautious Chinese banks to increasingly refuse processing Russian cross-border payments in yuan.

Jonathan Ward, a senior fellow at the Hudson Institute, cautioned that China’s and Russia’s proposed peace plans would likely benefit Putin, validate aggression, and potentially allow Moscow to restart the conflict under more favorable conditions, all while enabling Beijing to avoid comprehensive sanctions.