Ukraine aims to organize another peace summit by the end of this year and wants Russia to attend this time. This was stated by the Ukrainian ambassador to Turkey, quoted by Reuters.
However, he ruled out any direct bilateral talks with Moscow at the meeting.
Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine nearly three years ago, the two countries have remained far apart on how to end the war. Turkey, China, Brazil and others have offered to mediate the conflict or discuss peace proposals, but no progress has been made.
Ukraine is following President Volodymyr Zelensky’s “victory plan” and Russian President Vladimir Putin has said peace talks can only begin if Kiev agrees to abandon large swaths of territory claimed by Moscow and abandons its bid to join the NATO.
“One of the most important goals of this summit is to achieve a just peace in Ukraine. Here we are not talking about a format in which Ukraine and Russia sit opposite each other and Ukraine listens to Russia’s demands,” Ambassador Vasil Bodnar specified.
“What we see now is this: the international community, together with Ukraine, will sit down and draw up a list of what steps can be taken for a just peace in Ukraine, and they will discuss what demands to make to Russia based on that list,” he added.
“It will not be a direct bilateral meeting, it will most likely be in a format where third parties are involved and talks are conducted through third parties. We hope to hold this summit by the end of the year.”
Bodnar noted that Turkey, which has sought to maintain cordial ties with both Ukraine and Russia during the war, will be an important player because of its experience in mediating other conflicts.
Turkey supports Ukraine’s territorial integrity, condemns the invasion and provides military aid, but at the same time opposes Western sanctions against Russia, with which it has important relations in the fields of defense, energy and tourism.
Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan is expected to attend the Ukraine-Southeast Europe summit in the Croatian city of Dubrovnik today. A Turkish diplomatic source revealed that he would reiterate Ankara’s position there that any peace talks must include both sides for a “just and lasting” solution.
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