Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in an interview with French media this week that he would support the presence of Russia at a second iteration of the failed global peace summit for his country held this year.
Ukraine led an meeting in Switzerland in June intended to discuss ways to end the two-and-a-half-year-old Russian invasion of his country, which began in earnest after nearly a decade of Russia colonizing Ukrainian territory and backing pro-Russian separatist groups in the nation’s east. Russia did not participate in the meeting, nor did key Russia allies such as China, Ukraine’s largest trade partner. The “peace summit” did unite 92 countries and produce a vague roadmap document to peace later supported by some countries that did not attend.
Zelensky began insisting on a second peace summit almost immediately after the end of the first one. The Ukrainian leader also promised to hash out an “action plan for peace” by November, the date of the American presidential election. The timeframe has fed speculation that the departure of President Joe Biden, who has funded Zelensky’s war efforts to the tune of billions, is a significant decisive factor in Zelensky’s strategy.
The Ukrainian president granted an interview to several French outlets on Wednesday: the newspapers Le Monde, Libération, and L’Equipe, and the national Agence France-Presse (AFP). Asked about the potential for direct talks with Russia in a proposed global peace summit, Zelensky expressed resignation that he could no longer oppose such a move.
“The majority of the world today says that Russia must be represented at the second summit, otherwise we will not achieve meaningful results,” Zelensky said. “Since the whole world wants them to be at the table, we cannot be against it.”
Zelensky’s remarks are the latest in a series of signals suggesting Kyiv is open to talks with Moscow. Meeting with Chinese communist officials in late July, Zelensky’s top diplomat, Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba, said Ukraine was “willing and ready for dialogue and negotiations with Russia,” a marked departure from the previous tenor of his remarks on the matter.
“Today in China, I held detailed and thorough negotiations with my Chinese counterpart Wang Yi about the path to peace,” Kuleba said in a statement following his talks with Foreign Minister Wang. “I emphasized that Ukraine needs a just and lasting peace, not just an illusion of peace, and I appreciate that this position was reciprocated.”
The Ukrainian government has repeatedly insisted that China, as a close ally of Moscow’s, could play a key role in ending the invasion. China has refused to condemn the ongoing colonization of Ukraine or do anything to punish Russia for its aggression, however, instead insisting that it is a neutral party open to facilitating dialogue.
In his remarks to French reporters, Zelensky repeated on Wednesday his hope that China would take on a greater role in the conflict.
“If China wants, it can force Russia to stop this war,” Zelensky was quoted as saying.
Russian officials have already declined any future invitations to a global peace summit and rejected talks with Ukraine. The regime of dictator Vladimir Putin has cited an October 2022 decree by Zelensky that effectively outlaws dialogue with Russia as a major obstacle to any negotiations.
“Russia is generally open to the negotiation process, but we first need to understand if the Ukrainian side is ready,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said in July, responding to Kuleba’s remarks on dialogue. “From a practical point of view, we’re open to achieving our goals through negotiations.”
“In addition to the general problem with Zelensky’s legitimacy, there’s also a problem with the actual legal prohibition of any contacts and negotiations with the Russian side,” he continued. “So there’s still a lot to be clarified here.”
Zelensky’s discussion of dialogue has become more frequent since holding a conversation in late July with former President Donald Trump, who is running to return to the White House in the 2024 election. Zelensky said in a statement on social media that he held a cordial conversation with Trump and hoped to meet him in person soon.
“Ukraine will always be grateful to the United States for its help in strengthening our ability to resist Russian terror. Russian attacks on our cities and villages continue every day,” Zelensky said in a statement on social media. “We agreed with President Trump to discuss at a personal meeting what steps can make peace fair and truly lasting.”
“I appreciate President Zelensky for reaching out because I, as your next President of the United States, will bring peace to the world and end the war that has cost so many lives and devastated countless innocent families,” Trump said in his own statement. “Both sides will be able to come together and negotiate a deal that ends the violence and paves a path forward to prosperity.”
“Following US President Joe Biden’s withdrawal from the presidential race, it’s widely believed that Washington’s stance on the Ukraine crisis may change,” the Chinese state-run newspaper Global Times speculated in July during Kuleba’s Beijing visit.
Zelensky has backed up talks of peace negotiations with military reinforcements. Reports indicated that Ukraine received its first shipment of U.S.-designated F-16 fighter jets this week, a longtime wish list item for the Ukrainian government to use against the much larger Russian military. The Ukrainian government has not formally confirmed their arrival at press time.
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