Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky expressed his willingness to support the presence of Russia in a second iteration of the failed global peace summit for his country held this year during an interview with French media. Ukraine led a meeting in Switzerland in June, intended to discuss ways to end the Russian invasion. However, Russia and China did not participate. The first peace summit united 92 countries and produced a vague roadmap document supported by some countries that did not attend.
Zelensky began calling for a second peace summit almost immediately after the end of the first one, promising an “action plan for peace” by November, which is also the date of the American presidential election. The timeframe has fueled speculation that the departure of President Joe Biden could be a significant factor in Zelensky’s strategy.
Zelensky told French reporters on Wednesday that he now believes it would be unproductive to oppose Russia’s presence at such a summit. 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.
Zelensky’s remarks are part of a series of signals indicating Kyiv is open to talks with Moscow. In late July, Ukraine’s top diplomat, Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba, said that Ukraine was “willing and ready for dialogue and negotiations with Russia.” This marked departure from previous statements.
The Ukrainian government has repeatedly stated that China, as a close ally of Russia, could play a key role in ending the invasion. However, China has refused to condemn the ongoing colonization of Ukraine or do anything to punish Russia for its aggression, choosing instead to insist it is a neutral party open to facilitating dialogue.
Zelensky repeated his hope that China would take on a greater role in the conflict during his interview with French reporters. If China wants, it can force Russia to stop this war,” Zelensky said.
Russian officials have already declined any future invitations to a global peace summit and rejected talks with Ukraine. They cited an October 2022 decree by Zelensky that effectively outlaws dialogue with Russia as a major obstacle to any negotiations.
Zelensky’s discussion of dialogue has become more frequent since holding a conversation in late July with former President Donald Trump, who is running for the presidency again in 2024. Zelensky said he held a cordial conversation with Trump and hoped to meet him in person soon.
Reports indicate that Ukraine received its first shipment of U.S.-designated F-16 fighter jets this week, which has been on the Ukrainian government’s wish list for use against the much larger Russian military. The Ukrainian government has not officially confirmed their arrival at press time.