The setting was grand, so too was the plan. But behind the peace plan put forward by China and welcomed by Russia, is the question, what do both nations seek?
A Ukrainian woman touches the grave of her husband, a soldier killed by Russian troops in August 2022.
Sean Gallup/Getty Images
Questions about whether warring parties agree about how the war will end and the costs of war or peace are all key factors to help assess when a conflict might end.
Men hold up protest signs in front of the coffins of DRC refugees killed in August 2004 in Gatumba, Burundi.
Simon Maina/AFP via Getty Images
Violence in the Democratic Republic of Congo is used to win a place in government, not to overthrow it. And it keeps working.
Militiamen join Afghan security forces during a gathering in Kabul last month. Together, they are trying to stem the tide of the latest Taliban gains.
Rahmat Gul/AP
In Afghanistan, it does not pay to be on the losing side. There is a danger that a spreading perception the Taliban are poised to take over could trigger a wave of government and army defections.
General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, left, and Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok at an October 2020 ceremony celebrating the peace deal.
Ebrahim Hamid/AFP via Getty Images
The transitional government has achieved a monumental milestone, but peace agreements in Sudan have been known to fall apart quickly.
Afghan security personnel inspect the rubble of Afghanistan’s intelligence services building after a car bomb blast claimed by the Taliban killed at least 11 people, July 13, 2020.
AFP via Getty Images
In February, the US signed an historic accord with the Taliban to end the Afghanistan War. Now violence in the country is up and peace talks with the government are delayed yet again.
FARC commander Iván Márquez issued a return to armed struggle in a video posted Aug. 29, 2019.
Reuters TV (screengrab)
Dissidents in Colombia’s FARC guerrillas are threatening to renew armed struggle three years after signing a landmark peace deal. Here, experts explain the history of Colombia’s fragile peace process.
It will be difficult to make the current peace agreement stick in South Sudan.
Mohamed Messara/EPA
The Trump administration may believe they have the key to an Israeli-Palestinian peace agreement – when others have failed. But it ignores how Israelis and Palestinians feel about such an agreement.
Senior Research Fellow, Norwegian Institute of International Affairs and Visiting Professor University of Buckingham, Norwegian Institute of International Affairs