Concessions refusals block any hope for Russia-Ukraine peace talks

Russia announced a ban on oil exports to Western powers Wednesday even as Kremlin officials seemed to keep the door cracked open to cease-fire talks over Moscow‘s nearly yearlong military invasion of Ukraine.

Ukrainian leaders this week have signaled desires for a United Nations-moderated peace summit, but analysts said the prospect of direct Ukrainian-Russian talks remains out of reach. They said neither country is showing a willingness to make the kinds of concessions that could kick-start negotiations to halt the war.

The Kremlin said Wednesday that Russia‘s oil export ban is a direct “response to the unfriendly actions by the United States” and its Western allies, which have targeted Russia with economic sanctions in retaliation for the Ukraine invasion. Most recently, they imposed a price cap on Russian crude oil.

It remains to be seen how the developments will affect global oil prices, but Russia is the world’s second-largest oil exporter and still carries significant sway over international energy markets.