Kiev wants to negotiate with Moscow

According to RCO News Agency, “Vasily Bodnar”, the ambassador of Kiev in Ankara, announced on Wednesday evening that Ukraine is still interested in holding a “peace meeting” with the participation of Russia.

Earlier, the office of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced that he had canceled the conference planned for November due to a series of “thematic conferences” with Ukraine’s Western supporters. According to Ambassador Vednar, Kyiv still wants indirect negotiations.

The President of Ukraine held the first “Peace Conference” hosted by Switzerland in June; A conference that did not achieve anything for Kiev and not only Russia was not invited to it, but the country’s officials called such a conference “absurd”.

“The second peace conference will not be held in November,” Ukrainian presidential aide Daria Zaryona told the media on Tuesday, according to Rasha Today.

The first Ukrainian peace conference, hosted by Switzerland, was held in June, but since Russia was not invited, it did not bring any significant achievements.

Andriy Yermak, the head of the office of the president of Ukraine, said earlier that he is trying to hold the second conference before the US presidential election in November, possibly with the presence of Russia.

Zelensky’s senior aide also added: “We are making preparations to hold such a conference with thematic conferences in the future. Of course, the last round of thematic conferences related to humanitarian concerns will be held in Canada at the end of October.

Nevertheless, Reuters reported today that Bodnar said at a press conference in the Turkish capital on Wednesday: “One of the most important goals of this meeting is to achieve a just peace in Ukraine.” We hope to hold this summit by the end of the year.”

“We are not talking here about a format where Ukraine and Russia sit facing each other and Ukraine listens to Russia’s demands,” Bednar added. What we’re seeing now is that the international community will sit down with Ukraine and create a list of actions that can be taken for a just peace in Ukraine, and they’ll talk about what kind of demands they want from Russia based on that list. “

He explained that the planned meeting would not be “a direct bilateral meeting” but a format in which talks would be conducted through third parties. Such a format has previously been described as “shuttle diplomacy”.

According to Bodnar, Türkiye will be an important participant in the conference due to its experience in mediating conflicts. Ankara has sought to maintain ties with Moscow and Kiev during the conflict that erupted in February 2022.

A number of countries have offered to mediate between Russia and Ukraine, but with little success. Kiev continues to insist on Zelensky’s “peace formula,” his ten-point wish list that effectively calls for Russia’s capitulation.

Russia has dismissed any discussion of the alleged formula as nonsense. In June, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced that Moscow was ready to cease hostilities and begin immediate talks with Ukraine if Kiev officially dropped its demands for NATO membership and withdrew from the Donetsk and Luhansk People’s Republics, as well as Kherson and Zaporozhye. It is Ukraine.

Zelensky rejected this proposal and called it an “ultimatum”. On the other hand, the Kremlin said that these terms are no longer on the table after Ukraine launched an attack on Russia’s Kursk region in early August.

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