Zelensky stated that Russia is threatening several countries to avoid the peace summit.
Kyiv:
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Wednesday that Russia was still trying to disrupt next month’s global “peace summit” devoted to the conflict with Russia and was pressuring countries to stay away from the meeting.
Zelenskiy wants the summit, scheduled for June 15-16 in Switzerland, to produce a front to exert pressure on Russia and advance his “peace formula” – which calls for the withdrawal of Russian troops and the restoration of Ukraine’s borders from 1991.
In his evening video address, Zelenskiy said that “nearly 100 countries and international organizations” are now associated with “global efforts” to resolve the conflict.
“Russia will no longer be able to disrupt the summit, although it is trying hard to do so,” Zelenskiy said.
“He is putting pressure on leaders, openly threatening several countries with destabilization. And this is one of the consequences of the world giving too much time to the terrorist State.”
He said officials from Ukraine’s government, parliament and other institutions are working to ensure maximum participation and make the summit “truly effective, which is necessary to bring real peace closer.”
The Swiss hosts of the summit did not invite Russia and Moscow considers the event useless without its participation.
The Kremlin says it is prepared to negotiate an end to the conflict and suggests as a starting point talks held in the first weeks of the war in 2022, which appeared to be close to an agreement, which Ukrainian negotiators then rejected.
Moscow considers Zelenskiy’s plan impractical and says any discussion must take into account “new realities”, including the fact that Russia owns around 18 percent of Ukraine’s territory.
Russia annexed four Ukrainian regions several months after its full-scale invasion in February 2022, although it does not have full control over any of them.
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