Dmytro Kuleba, the Ukrainian Foreign Minister, stated Monday that the country would like to host a peace summit at United Nations by February. However, Russia should first be brought before an international tribunal for war crimes.
“Every war ends diplomatically. Kuleba said Monday that every war is ended by the actions of those who are on the battlefield or at the negotiating table.
“The United Nations could be a good venue to hold this summit, as it is not about doing favors to one country.”
Kuleba stated that Antonio Guterres, Secretary General of the United Nations, could act as mediator in a possible peace summit.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy, President of Ukraine, presented a 10-point plan for peace at the G20 summit last week. It included the release of all prisoners-of-war, the withdrawal and cessation hostilities of Russian forces, nuclear safety, and the “establishment a Special Tribunal regarding Russia’s aggression crime.”
Kuleba stated Monday that Russia could only be invited to “this step in this manner”, referring to a tribunal for war crimes.
In an interview on Sunday with state television, Vladimir Putin, the Russian President, stated that Moscow is open to negotiations but Kyiv had rejected peace talks.
“We are willing to negotiate with all parties about acceptable solutions. But that is up to them. Putin stated in an interview that they were not refusing to negotiate.
Zelenskyy tweeted Monday that he had discussed the “peace formulation” with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Modi has been trying to build a stronger relationship with Russia in recent months.
In October, the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine was established by United Nations Human Rights Council. It concluded that a “array of war crimes and violations of international humanitarian law were committed in Ukraine”.
While the commission found that Russian forces were responsible for “vast majority of violations,” it also determined that Ukrainian troops had “committed some international humanitarian law violations.”