Viewpoints
Opinion

Toward a Durable Peace in Ukraine

Toward a Durable Peace in Ukraine
President Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin meet during a summit on Ukraine at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage, Alaska, on Aug. 15, 2025. Sergey Bobylev/Pool/Sputnik/AFP
|Updated:
0:00
Commentary

Does the end of gunfire mean peace? In Ukraine, the answer is tragically no. History teaches us that true peace is not merely the absence of war—it is the presence of justice, trust, and enduring cooperation. The Treaty of Versailles ended World War I, but created a negative peace. In doing so, it sowed the seeds of another war. Only after World War II did the United States, as a global power, construct a system under Bretton Woods and the United Nations which addressed the structural and cultural roots of conflict and laid the foundation for a positive peace.

Mark Thomas
Mark Thomas
Author