Ongoing reports and analysis

The White House suggests that it is in the final stages of pushing for a Ukraine-Russia peace deal. And there are modest signs of progress, including a U.S.-Ukrainian agreement on mineral rights and reconstruction, as well as a meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Rome that did not devolve into a shouting match.

But even assuming that Ukraine succumbs to U.S. pressure and reaches an agreement with Russia, all three states face a fundamental problem: International law will regard any peace treaty procured by force like Russia has deployed since 2014 as void. The remedy for this—U.N. Security Council approval of the agreement—warrants that institution playing a role sooner rather than later in the conflict’s outcome.

The White House suggests that it is in the final stages of pushing for a Ukraine-Russia peace deal. And there are modest signs of progress, including a U.S.-Ukrainian agreement on mineral rights and reconstruction, as well as a meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Rome that did not devolve into a shouting match.

But even assuming that Ukraine succumbs to U.S. pressure and reaches an agreement with Russia, all three states face a fundamental problem: International law will regard any peace treaty procured by force like Russia has deployed since 2014 as void. The remedy for this—U.N. Security Council approval of the agreement—warrants that institution playing a role sooner rather than later in the conflict’s outcome.

The Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties went into force in 1980 after three decades of drafting and ratification. Today, 116 states are bound by its terms, including 

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