ROME — A secret mission revealed days ago by Pope Francis to bring peace between Russia and Ukraine is so secret that Russia and Ukraine claim to know nothing about it. The Kremlin said on Tuesday that it had no idea what the pope was talking about. “Ukraine doesn’t know about it,” Ukraine’s ambassador to […]
Tag: Peace
The ‘Peace Dividend’ Is Over in Europe. Now Come the Hard Tradeoffs.
In the 30 years since the Iron Curtain came crashing down, trillions of dollars that had been dedicated to Cold War armies and weapons systems were gradually diverted to health care, housing and schools. That era — when security took a back seat to trade and economic growth — abruptly ended with Russia’s invasion of […]
Saudi Arabia and Houthis Hold Peace Talks in Yemen: What to Know
After eight years of crushing civil war in Yemen, where hundreds of thousands of people have died of violence and hunger, a new round of talks this week has raised a glimmer of hope for a breakthrough in one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises. The difference between these negotiations and those of years past […]
Can China Make Peace in Ukraine? Macron Isn’t Saying No.
President Emmanuel Macron of France arrives in Beijing on Wednesday determined to carve out a distinct role for Europe that avoids America’s confrontation with an assertive China, and convinced that there is a place for China in ending the war in Ukraine. Battered at home by protests over his decision to raise the French retirement […]
Pope Francis Calls for Peace in South Sudan During Visit
JUBA, South Sudan — On the last full day of his trip to Africa, Pope Francis met with the displaced South Sudanese who have borne the brunt of the conflict he came to help resolve by issuing blunt and insistent calls for leaders to get serious about peace. “I am with here you, and I […]
Hard-Line Positions Suggest Progress Toward Peace Talks Is Far-Off: Live Updates
A member of the Ukrainian military near the front lines in the Donetsk region on Sunday.Credit…Tyler Hicks/The New York Times As the battle for Ukraine turns into a bloody, mile-by-mile fight in numbing cold, Ukrainian and Russian officials have insisted that they are willing to discuss making peace. But it is increasingly clear that both […]
Pope Francis’ Christmas Address Bemoans ‘Grave Famine of Peace’
Pope Francis used his Christmas address from a balcony overlooking a crowded St. Peter’s Square on Sunday to call for “concrete gestures of solidarity” with besieged Ukrainians living through the holiday “in the dark and cold, far from their homes due to the devastation caused by 10 months of war.” Lamenting that the “icy winds […]
Christmas in Ukraine: Flickering Lights, Patriotic Trees and Hope for Peace
KYIV, Ukraine — Hundreds of missiles and drones aimed at Ukraine’s energy infrastructure have left millions of people without power — and dozens of cities without Christmas lights. It was no accident that the wave of attacks came before the holidays and in the darkest and coldest time of year, said Denys Shmyhal, Ukraine’s prime […]
Brittney Griner and Nobel Peace Prize: Live Updates
BRUSSELS — A bitter political and diplomatic rift between Germany and Poland, both important members of the European Union and NATO, has worsened as Russia’s war in Ukraine has ground on, undermining cohesion and solidarity in both organizations. The toxic nature of the relationship was underscored recently by a German offer to provide two batteries […]
Ukraine Peace Talks Remain Distant Even as Moscow Signals a Retreat
“In terms of the ultimate status of Crimea, that will be something to be negotiated or discussed between the Ukrainians and the Russians, but Crimea is Ukraine,” Colin H. Kahl, the Pentagon’s under secretary for policy, said on Tuesday. Ukrainian military advances on Crimea, though a distant prospect for now, would stoke concern in Washington […]