Vast gap has to be bridged for peace to arrive in Europe

The Chinese proverb, "Three feet of ice does not form in a single day", aptly describes the origins of the Ukraine crisis. The conflict is the result of decades of geopolitical tension and layered grievances, as NATO's five rounds of eastward expansion, entrenched US-Russia antagonism, clashing US-European interests, as well as enduring geopolitical rivalries have intertwined to produce a full-scale security rupture in Europe. What the world is seeing today is not an isolated event, but the culmination of accumulated contradictions.

It's illusory to expect such ice in Europe, frozen over many years, to be thawed in a single day in Alaska. The Friday meeting between the leaders of the United States and Russia yielded no substantive agreements, underlining the truth that even the leader of the world's only superpower and the head of the largest country by landmass cannot, in a single encounter, extinguish the flames of a conflict.

Meanwhile, the presence of US and NATO weapons in the battlefield has added complexity to the issue while the Ukrainian leader's latest rejection of the White House's urging that it sign a peace deal instead of a ceasefire only affirms that the US is pursuing its own interests. In US President Donald Trump's meeting with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin in Anchorage on Friday, the former's role should not be considered a totally neutral mediator.

Before the meeting, both Moscow and Kyiv had publicly stated their conditions for peace, which are apparently still far apart. After the meeting, there were no details about the concerns of the two countries, not to mention solutions of how to narrow the gap.

Further, a joint statement by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and leaders of several European nations posted on the commission's official website on Saturday has reaffirmed that "No limitations should be placed on Ukraine's armed forces or on its cooperation with third countries" and "Russia cannot have a veto against Ukraine's pathway to the EU and NATO", which highlights its intransigent refusal to find common ground on the Russian leadership's declared objectives in the crisis.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky will meet Trump on Monday, but considering the vast gap between what the two sides want, there is no hope of peace arriving soon in the war-torn land.

Yet, for the soldiers bleeding and civilians caught in the cross fire, peace is desperately urgent. Three and a half years into the conflict, every day without peace means another day of bloodshed at the front and prolonged exile for the displaced. Under the shadow of modern weaponry, casualties mount daily on the battlefield.

Even though they are locked in a bloody conflict, one common interest of both Russia and Ukraine is "pursuing peace", a slogan posted by the White House on X at the beginning of the meeting. The earlier peace arrives, the sooner the soldiers of the two sides can put down their weapons and go home for reconstruction.

In the news conference after the meeting, Putin said "negotiations have been held in a constructive atmosphere of mutual respect", which reaffirms that dialogue remains preferable to escalation. In its statement, the European Commission also said it was ready to work with Trump and Zelensky toward a trilateral summit with European support, a gesture that keeps the door open for talks.

History shows that, however complex and intractable the situation may be, the door to peace and reconciliation must never be shut.

Until peace is achieved, all parties must work to cool tensions and foster contact between the two sides, with the goal of halting hostilities. Responsible diplomacy is needed from all the sides involved. Not just symbolic gestures, but sustained, determined engagement to bring about a political settlement. The guns must fall silent through negotiation, not exhaustion.

The cost of delay is measured in human lives lost, homes destroyed and futures derailed. The dawn of peace must come sooner, not later.