‘Will Hold Talks With Russia If…’: Zelenskyy At Peace Summit

Russia-Ukraine War: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Sunday that Kyiv will hold peace talks with Russia tomorrow if Moscow pulls out of all Ukrainian territory, as reported by the BBC. But speaking at the close of a summit for peace in Switzerland, Zelenskyy said that Russian President Vladimir Putin would not end the war and had to be stopped either by military or diplomatic means.

The Ukrainian President said that Western aid was not enough to win the war, but the summit showed that international support for Ukraine was not weakening.

The meeting came to an end with dozens of countries committing to Ukraine’s territorial integrity. A final document was adopted that blamed the war’s widespread suffering and destruction firmly on Russia.

However, several countries attending, including India, South Africa, and Saudi Arabia, did not sign it. According to the BBC, the summit was aimed at creating the broadest possible backing for a process that could help end the war in Ukraine.

The summit was attended by more than 90 countries and international organisations. Russia was not invited to the summit, and its biggest supporter, China, was not present.

The final document calls for the restoration of Ukraine’s control over the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, which is currently occupied by Russia, as per the BBC report. It also refers to Moscow’s invasion as a “war,” a label that Russia has rejected.

The document called for the exchange of all prisoners and the return of children abducted by Russia.
Speaking to reporters after the summit, the Ukrainian President thanked the world leaders who were present and said that he was grateful that they had shown independence by coming despite pressure from Moscow for them to stay away. “This summit says that international support [for Ukraine] is not weakening,” he said, as quoted by the BBC.

Zelenskyy also noted that states not previously involved in diplomatic efforts had joined the process. He said Moscow’s presence at negotiations would demonstrate its willingness for peace. “Russia can start negotiations tomorrow if they pull out of our territories,” he said.

Zelenskyy also said that China was not Ukraine’s enemy. “We respect China and its territorial integrity; we want China to do the same for us,” he said, as quoted by the BBC. 

On Saturday, Zelenskyy said that the results of the Swiss summit would be communicated to Moscow “so that at the second peace summit we can fix the real end of the war.”

Russia has described the Swiss summit as a waste of time, and on Friday Putin said he would agree to a ceasefire if Ukraine withdrew troops from four regions that Russia partially occupies and claims to have annexed.

But a day later, Western leaders who attended the event strongly rejected Putin’s proposal. On Sunday, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the Russian President did not rule out talks with Kyiv but added that guarantees would be required to ensure their credibility, and the Ukrainian President could not be a participant.