Foreign minister says Ukraine aims for February peace summit

26 December 2022, 18:57

The Ukrainian foreign minister has said that his government aims to have a peace summit by the end of February, and said the country will do whatever it can to win the war next year.

He said the United Nations would be the preferred venue for the proposed summit around the anniversary of Russia's invasion, and that Secretary-General António Guterres could be a possible mediator for the talks.

Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba told The Associated Press he was “absolutely satisfied” with the results of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s visit to the US where he met President Biden last week, revealing that the US government has made a special plan to get the Patriot missile battery ready to be operational in Ukraine in less than six months.

Training for the defence system usually takes up to a year.

Mr Kuleba said that Ukraine will do whatever it can to win the war in 2023, and that diplomacy will play an important role in ending the fighting.

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During the interview at the Foreign Ministry, he said: “Every war ends in a diplomatic way.

“Every war ends as a result of the actions taken on the battlefield and at the negotiating table.”

He said his government would like to have the talks by the end of February.

“The United Nations could be the best venue for holding this summit, because this is not about making a favor to a certain country,” he said. “This is really about bringing everyone on board.”

Asked about whether Russia would be invited to the summit, he said that said the Kremlin should face trial for war crimes at an international court before it joins the talks.

“They can only be invited to this step in this way,” he said said.

On Mr Guterres’ role, Mr Kuleba said: “He has proven himself to be an efficient mediator and an efficient negotiator, and most importantly, as a man of principle and integrity. So we would welcome his active participation.”

He again downplayed comments from the Russian authorities that they are ready for negotiations, adding: “They regularly say that they are ready for negotiations, which is not true, because everything they do on the battlefield proves the opposite.”