In a new development on the ongoing Russo-Ukrainian war and the attempts to bring it to a close, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov is indicating that the Kremlin may be open to a deal. In an interview scheduled to be aired in full on Sunday, Lavrov sounded an optimistic tone on ongoing cease-fire talks.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said the Kremlin is "ready to reach a deal" to end the war in Ukraine, which has been raging for more than three years.

In an excerpt of an interview that is set to air in full on Sunday, Lavrov told CBS News that he agreed with President Donald Trump's assertion that talks between Ukraine and Russia were "moving in the right direction."

Lavrov’s comments came after Trump criticized Russian President Vladimir Putin and demanded he halt the deadly strikes in Ukraine.

"I am not happy with the Russian strikes on KYIV. Not necessary, and very bad timing. Vladimir, STOP! 5,000 soldiers a week are dying. Let’s get the peace deal DONE," Trump wrote.

However, Lavrov also told CBS News that there were "some specific points, elements of the deal, which need to be fine-tuned," but did not explain what was being negotiated.

"Fine-tuned" is diplo-speak for "There's no way Ukraine is getting Crimea back."

Lavrov also apparently made it clear to CBS News that Russia would not give up Crimea, which the country seized from Ukraine in 2014. However, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said this week that his country would not recognize Russian control of Crimea, as it would go against Ukraine’s constitution. Trump slammed Zelenskyy over the "inflammatory" remark and said in a post on Truth Social that the comment was "very harmful" to peace efforts.

"It’s inflammatory statements like Zelenskyy’s that make it so difficult to settle this war," Trump wrote. In the same post, he said it was time for Russia and Ukraine to "get it done" and reach an agreement.

Ukraine's President Zelensky, very likely, will have to accept Crimea's loss.

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The best negotiated end to this that seems likely at the moment would be a return to the status quo ante from 2022, including a return to the pre-invasion borders. That would remove Russian forces from the Ukrainian territory they now occupy, other than Crimea, which was annexed by Russia in 2014. Predictions are hard to make, especially about the future, but given that Russia took Crimea for the warm-water port at Sevastopol and also has reopened a Soviet-era submarine base in Crimea, it's hard to see Russia surrendering that territory. And this is just a guess, but it's also likely that Russia will insist on some kind of guarantee that Ukraine won't be taken into NATO.

Add to that the fact that, at this point, it doesn't look likely that there will be some sudden and overwhelming military victory by either side. A negotiated peace in which both sides make some concessions is probably the best we can hope for. It may be a peace that will last a year, a decade, or a generation.

As far as anyone harboring any illusions that any agreement will be permanent, I would remind them of George Santayana's caution: Only the dead have seen the end of war.

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