The Ukrainian foreign minister granted an interview to the American agency Associated Press on Monday. Dmytro Kuleba outlined the outlines of a future peace summit, but set the sine qua non for Ukraine to accept Russia’s presence.
A Summit for Peace in two months, under the auspices of the United Nations and directly at the United Nations Headquarters. The perspective outlined by Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba during an interview he gave to the American agency Associated Press this Monday seems to give hope.
However, Kyiv’s sine qua non that Russia accept the submission of some of its own war crimes before international justice before participating in the negotiations, and Russian demands invite more caution than optimism.
Just a requirement
While Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in recent days – and particularly during his visit to the United States – has reaffirmed his desire to implement a “peace plan”, Dmytro Kuleba has taken up his idea of organizing a summit for this purpose. The foreign minister even set a deadline: “We are aiming for the end of February, when the war enters its second year.”
But the Ukrainian executive sets a requirement from which it does not want to deviate. In order for the Russian invader to have a voice in such a case, he must first agree to face war crimes charges before an international tribunal. “You will only be invited to participate under this condition,” said Dmytro Kuleba.
The UN at the center of expectations
However, the latter continued to determine the contours of the summit he had demanded. For him, it must take place at the UN headquarters. “We think the United Nations would be the best place to organize it because it’s not about distinguishing this country or that country. It’s mainly about getting everyone around the table, and there’s no better place for that than the UN,” said Dmytro Kuleba.
The Secretary of State also introduces himself to UN leaders as masters of ceremonies, most notably Antonio Guterres: “The Secretary-General of the United Nations was one of the first international officials my President spoke to about the summit.” Praising the Secretary-General, Dmytro Kuleba judged: “He has shown himself to be an effective mediator and negotiator, and more importantly, he has shown himself to be a man of principle and honesty.”
After Putin
But distrust of Russia shone through again when Ukraine’s foreign minister told the AP about the ultimate goal of this hypothetical summit: “We mustn’t allow Russia to rig the peace deal because they keep saying they’re ready to negotiate, which they aren’t.” true because everything they do on the battlefield proves the opposite”.
A projection reflecting Vladimir Putin’s televised speech in Russia the previous day. The Russian President actually started: “We are ready to negotiate acceptable solutions with all actors involved, but it depends on them – it is not us who refuse to negotiate, but them”.
The autocrat again accused Ukraine and its allies of wanting to “divide historical Russia” and declared his intention to “preserve the Russian-speaking (Ukrainian) territories occupied by his forces”. Russian claims about Donbass and Crimea that Ukraine doesn’t want to hear about.
Suffice it to say that the war was not to end immediately. Dmytro Kuleba told journalists: “Every war ends diplomatically. Every war ends because of actions on the battlefield and at the negotiating table.
Robin Verner Journalist BFMTV