pcr makes a good argument;

There Will Be No Ukraine Peace Deal:  Putin Should Quickly Win the Conflict Before It Leaves His Control. Otherwise, a Big War Is in the Making

Paul Craig Roberts

One wonders how much longer Putin and Lavrov will take it or even if they comprehend the situation.  

For four years Putin and Lavrov have demonstrated enormous interest in ending the conflict by resolving the basic cause. 

The West has never bothered to understand that the basis of the conflict is Washington’s hegemonic foreign policy and NATO and US missile bases on Russia’s borders in Poland and Romania. The Kremlin has been reluctant to see this and provocations, such as the conflict in Ukraine created by US Zionist Neoconservatives, as a declaration of war on Russia.

The Kremlin mistakenly has relied on the West coming to its senses and realizing that profits from economic interaction are preferable to war, especially nuclear war.  This reliance on common sense by the Kremlin has proven to be wrong. Putin made a very bad bet.

John Helmer has pointed out that no Western government wants an end to the conflict because of the large rake-off in commissions from weapons sales.  .........more..........