In the West, officials have noted the emergence of faint signs of life in attempts to settle the conflict in Ukraine

Faint signs of life are emerging in efforts to resolve the conflict in Ukraine.

This was reported by The New York Times (NYT).

“At a meeting between Russian and Ukrainian negotiators last month, they managed to agree only on the exchange of bodies of the deceased. These talks, mediated by the administration of [U.S. President Donald] Trump, apparently demonstrated that their ultimate goal — ending the war — has reached a deadlock,” the article states.

However, the publication notes that this does not mean diplomatic efforts have ceased: both Russia and Ukraine are each trying to appeal to the White House in their own way. It is noted that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, over the weekend, proposed resuming negotiations, and Moscow agreed. This was his first proposal to restart talks after the Trump administration agreed to assist Ukraine with air defense systems and threatened to impose sanctions on Russia’s trading partners within 50 days.

According to the newspaper, securing long-term air defense supplies could accelerate negotiations, as it would remove Russia’s incentive to delay talks until Ukraine’s air defenses are depleted.

Earlier, it was reported that delegations from Russia and Ukraine might meet for talks in Istanbul on July 23-24. However, the exact location, timing, and composition of the delegations have not been disclosed.