The only platform for peace talks is the one proposed by Kyiv, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said during the Three Seas Summit in Vilnius.
“The only political platform for peace talks is our proposed platform, which is the June peace meeting. Most of the civilised world, those who care, will attend this meeting,” Zelensky told a press conference on Thursday, asked whether the US failure to approve aid for Ukraine would force Kyiv to come to the negotiating table with Russia.
“There, we will outline a clear plan to end this war from the perspective of a just peace,” he added.
The Swiss government announced on Wednesday that the country would hold a summit in mid-June to discuss a peace plan for Ukraine. Russia said it would not attend the meeting, adding that the conference was pointless.
According to the Ukrainian president, the peace plan will be based on UN resolutions and the document will be then processed at a “technical level”.
“Later, it will be possible to join this format in one way or another. All this will be discussed at the first summit and Russia will have to implement these steps for the sake of a just peace,” Zelenky said. “This is the only format we see.”
He noted that the loss of military support would be “very difficult for Ukraine, we will lose people, we will lose soldiers who are very dear to us”.
“The issue is not only about territory. Others are spreading the Russian narrative that it is only about territory. No, it is primarily about people, but territories are also important for us because if you do not restore territorial integrity, it means that you don’t respect your sovereignty, you turn it into a frozen conflict, and it is only a matter of time before Putin comes back,” Zelensky pointed out.
Ukraine has consistently stated that peace with Russia is only possible when Moscow leaves all the occupied territories of Ukraine.
A 60 billion US dollar (55.34 billion euro) funding package for Ukraine is currently stalled in the US Congress.
Newsletter
Every Friday morning.
