Ukraine Wants To Start Peace Talks with Russia in February, But There’s 1 Condition

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba on Monday said that Kyiv was prepared to have a peace summit by the end of February to end the conflict, preferably at the United Nations with Secretary-General Antonio Guterres as a potential mediator.

However, the Ukrainian official said that Moscow could only be invited to the summit if Russia faces a war crimes tribunal beforehand. Kuleba said that he was "absolutely satisfied" with the results of President Volodymyr Zelensky's trip to the United States, which happened last week.

Ukraine's Potential Peace Summit

Furthermore, the Ukrainian foreign minister revealed that the American government had made a special plan to get the Patriot missile battery ready to be operational in the country within the next half year. Usually, the training needed for the equipment takes up to a year.

During an interview at the Foreign Ministry, Kuleba said that Ukrainian authorities will do whatever it takes to win the war against Russia in 2023. The official added that diplomacy always plays an important role in the conflict, as per NPR.

The foreign minister added that every war ends diplomatically and is a result of the actions taken on the battlefield and at the negotiating table. Kuleba noted that the Ukrainian government wished to have a peace summit by the end of February, right around the anniversary of the war with Russia.

Kuleba said that the UN could be the best venue for holding such a summit due to them not doing a favor to a certain country. He added that the decision was all about bringing everyone on board for the peace talks.

According to Al Jazeera, the consideration for a peace summit comes as Zelensky is seeking India's assistance with the "peace formula." The discussion was done through a phone call with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Russia-Ukraine War

The conversation, which was held on Monday, came at a time when India is also seeking to strengthen trade relations with Moscow as Western nations introduce new measures to limit Russia's funding of its invasion of Ukraine.

The situation surrounding a possible peace summit comes as Russian President Vladimir Putin claims that Moscow is ready for such talks with Ukraine despite the continued bombardment of Kyiv and other cities.

The Russian strongman said his country was ready to hold peace talks to end the conflict by negotiating acceptable outcomes with all the participants of the process. Putin added that it was not them who were refusing the talks but Ukrainian officials.

The remark is a claim that the Kremlin has repeatedly stated in recent months as it continues its already 10-month-old invasion that has somehow lost momentum. Furthermore, Putin repeated that Moscow has "no other choice" and said that he believes the Kremlin was "acting in the right direction."

The attacks have also left nearly 9 million Ukrainians without electricity as Russia's strikes have damaged energy infrastructure. Fortunately, officials have been conducting repair work to fix the electricity grid. Zelensky said that the situation was slowly getting better and the numbers and length of the blackouts were gradually decreasing, DW News reported.