Zelensky's peace formula faces rejection as Russia calls it "pointless"

- Ukraine might start peace negotiations with Russia within the "peace formula" proposed by President Volodymyr Zelensky, announced by the head of the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry, Dmytro Kuleba. According to him, Kyiv is ready to start the diplomatic process between summits at which Ukraine's peace plan will be discussed.

We said that at the first summit, we would gather all the countries that share these principles (included in Zelensky's "peace formula"). They will choose the point they want to work on. Then, between the first and the second summit, communication with Russia could take place on terms approved by the participants, said Kuleba in a conversation with Indian television NDTV.

Earlier, during a visit to Switzerland, the President of Ukraine asked Bern to organise a high-level peace conference to discuss possibilities for resolving the armed conflict. The President of Switzerland, Viola Amherb, said she welcomes this request with pleasure.

At the end of February, the head of the Presidential Office of Ukraine, Andriy Yermak, admitted that the Russian side would be invited to the second conference. Zelensky confirmed that Kyiv intended to submit the settlement plan to Moscow but emphasised that he did not consider this a negotiation.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, in an interview published on Friday, stated that the peace plan proposed by Ukraine is "pointless" because "it is based on unacceptable premises, such as Moscow's withdrawal from the areas it occupies".

Lavrov told the Moscow newspaper Izvestia that the proposed peace summit "will not succeed until its fundamental premises are changed, including allowing Russia to participate."

- In any case, we are ready for talks, but not based on Zelensky's "peace formula" - Lavrov repeated.

A key point of Zelensky's formula is the withdrawal of Russians from the occupied territories of Ukraine. The Russians from the beginning refuse, hoping that the annexation of more regions - Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhia - will go unpunished for Putin.

Previously, Russian dictator Vladimir Putin repeatedly spoke about Moscow's readiness to talk - each time, however, they set absurd conditions that were only in Putin's favour.

Lavrov evaluated as "unacceptable" the provisions of the plan, which call for Russia to withdraw from the territories it occupies, including Crimea, annexed in 2014, and to restore the post-Soviet borders of Ukraine from 1991. The plan also involves holding Russia accountable for its brutal attack on Ukraine.

Zelensky first presented the "peace formula" at the G20 summit in November 2022. His peace plan includes 10 points.

In turn, Putin expressed readiness for a cease-fire and started negotiations with Kyiv in September last year, reported "The New York Times," citing informed sources. The bloody dictator, however, refuses to return to the occupied territories, which does not suit Kyiv.

- However, both sides of the conflict are exhausted, which could create an opportunity for dialogue - said Admiral James Stavridis, former Supreme Allied Commander of NATO in Europe. He predicted that negotiations between Moscow and Kyiv would begin before the end of 2024. As the most likely moment, he indicated the period after the November presidential elections in the USA.

source: PAP / NYT / Moscow Times / Reuters / Izvestia