Ukraine ‘plans peace summit by the end of February’
UKRAINE’S foreign minister said his government is aiming to have a peace summit by the end of February, preferably at the United Nations with secretarygeneral Antonio Guterres as mediator.
Dmytro Kuleba told the Associated Press he is “absolutely satisfied” with the results of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s visit to the US last week – and said the US government plans to get a Patriot missile battery ready to be operational in the country in under six months.
Usually, the training takes up to a year.
Mr Kuleba also said Ukraine will do whatever it can to win the war in 2023 – adding diplomacy always plays an important role.
“Every war ends in a diplomatic way,” he said. “Every war ends as a result of the actions taken on the battlefield and at the negotiating table.”
A summit towards the end of February would come around a year after Russia’s invasion.
Mr Kuleba said: “The United Nations could be the best venue for holding this summit because this is not about making a favour to a certain country.
“This is really about bringing everyone on board.”
After if Russia will be invited, he said it should first face prosecution for war crimes at an international court.
“They can only be invited to this step in this way,” he said.
About 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.”
The foreign minister again downplayed comments by Russian authorities that they are ready for negotiations.
“They regularly say that they are ready for negotiations, which is not true, because everything they do on the battlefield proves the opposite,” he said.
Meanwhile, the Russian military reported yesterday that it shot down a Ukrainian drone approaching an airbase deep inside Russia.
It is the second time the Engels airbase has been targeted this month, raising questions about the effectiveness of Russia’s air defences if drones can fly that far into the country.
Russia’s Defence Ministry said the incident took place in the early hours yesterday, and three servicemen were killed by debris at the base, which houses the Tu-95 and Tu-160 nuclearcapable strategic bombers that have been involved in launching strikes on Ukraine.