An International Legal Analysis of Peace Initiatives to Resolve the Conflict in Ukraine: From Minsk to Istanbul

This article examines the evolution of international legal decisions on the peaceful settlement of the crisis in Ukraine, beginning in 2014 (the "Euromaidan" and the overthrow of the legitimate President of Ukraine, Viktor Yanukovych), and ending with intensive negotiations in Minsk and Istanbul from February to April 2022, which were unilaterally suspended by Ukraine. The author identifies and analyzes the reasons for the ineffectiveness of the adopted international agreements on conflict resolution in Ukraine, including identifying problematic aspects in the OSCE mediation activities in the Trilateral Contact Group, as well as in peacekeeping within the framework of the Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine. The article focuses on the current situation of the negotiation process in search of peace initiatives to end military actions. In addition, the article presents an analysis of the decision of the International Court of Justice of the United Nations of January 31, 2024, which nullified the discrediting statuses defined by Ukraine in relation to the people of the LPR and DPR as “terrorists and separatists,” which allows us to objectively qualify the status of the conflict in Ukraine through the prism of the principles and norms of international humanitarian law.