Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky believes that the United States and China can act as mediators in the event of negotiations with the Russian Federation, with Vladimir Putin saying that mediators are not needed for negotiations.
After Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban announced the idea of a ceasefire on the Kyiv front before the start of negotiations between Ukraine and Russia, comments about negotiations and a ceasefire began to pour in with renewed strength. The main participants in these processes – Vladimir Zelensky and dictator Vladimir Putin – did not stand aside.
Zelensky’s position
In an interview with Bloomberg, Vladimir Zelensky said that they plan to invite representatives of the aggressor country Russia to the second Global Peace Summit, but it is likely that the Russian dictator will be at the event.
“If the next Peace Summit is in line with the plan we have in mind. And he gives that there will be a plan with all the points of how we see the end of the war, and the majority of the world is on our side – we are working in this direction. If the plan is ready, we will organize a second Peace Summit and there should be representatives of the Russian Federation there, and we will see who it is,” said the Ukrainian head of state.
At the same time, Zelensky said that he is not sure about Putin’s participation in the summit because of the latter’s fear of leaving the Russian Federation. “It seems to me that he is afraid to leave Russia. Maybe at this moment there will be another person in the Kremlin, well, there will be another,” added the Ukrainian president.
Zelensky believes that the United States and China can act as mediators in the event of negotiations with the Russian Federation. In his opinion, this will allow a fair end to the war for Ukraine and the world.
“I think America, China. I think – together. I know they have huge questions for themselves. I understand. But it seems to me that if we want this war to end fairly for Ukraine, for the whole world, they will need to find some positions somewhere,” said Zelensky.
Everyone is waiting for Trump’s plan
Zelensky is convinced that US presidential candidate Donald Trump should present his plan for a quick end to the Russian war against Ukraine, which he has always talked about. At the same time, Zelensky warned that any proposal should not include a violation of Ukraine’s sovereignty.
“If Trump knows how to end this war, he should tell us about it now… If there are risks for Ukrainian freedom, if we lose our state, we want to be ready for it, we want to know ,” the Ukrainian president emphasized. And he added that he might be willing to meet with Trump to listen to his team’s proposals.
Putin said he takes seriously Trump’s intention to end the war in Ukraine, although the Kremlin leader is not familiar with his specific proposals.
“The fact that Mr. Trump, as a presidential candidate, announced that he is ready and wants to stop the war in Ukraine, we take it very seriously,” Putin said at a press conference at the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit in Astana. – I am not familiar, of course, with his possible proposals on how he would do it. And this, of course, is the main question. But I have no doubt that he is saying this sincerely. And we support it.”
During campaign rallies, Trump promised to end the war in Ukraine “within 24 hours,” but did not say how he would achieve it.
Putin doesn’t need mediators
Putin also said that Russia did not intend to declare a ceasefire, as Ukraine could take advantage of it.
“We cannot simply declare a ceasefire in the hope that the other side will take some positive steps,” Putin said. – This is the first thing. Second, we must not allow the enemy to take advantage of this ceasefire to improve its position.”
In addition, the Kremlin leader said that he did not believe in the reality of a scenario where mediators would help end the war.
“Who can give power to the mediator who can put a final point and end this confrontation? I just think it’s unlikely,” Putin said.
And Putin’s press secretary Dmitry Peskov separately noted that Turkish President Regen Tayyip Erdogan cannot be a mediator in the negotiations. However, he did not explain the reasons why. Only on July 3, after a meeting with Putin, Erdogan said that Turkey could be the basis for a ceasefire agreement, and then for achieving peace between Ukraine and the Russian Federation.
At the same time, Putin, at a meeting of the SCO Plus (Shanghai Cooperation Organization) in Astana, unexpectedly announced that Russia may return to the so-called Istanbul peace accords between the Russian Federation and Ukraine, although recently he announced other conditions for negotiations. “The agreements in Istanbul remain on the table and can be used as a basis for continuing these negotiations,” he said.
Source: korrespondent
I am David Wyatt, a professional writer and journalist for Buna Times. I specialize in the world section of news coverage, where I bring to light stories and issues that affect us globally. As a graduate of Journalism, I have always had the passion to spread knowledge through writing.