By Janet Ekstract
NEW YORK – On Monday, a day after Russian President Vladimir Putin went public with his statement that his government was “ready to negotiate with everyone involved about acceptable solutions” to end the war – Ukraine’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Dmytro Kuleba suggested that peace talks could be launched by the end of February 2023. Kuleba’s caveat was that Russia may only participate with the condition that its leaders face prosecution for war crimes in front of an international criminal court.
Kuleba, who spoke to the Associated Press, said he wants U.N. Secretary-General
Antonio Guterres to mediate such talks. As Kuleba commented: “He has proven himself to be an efficient mediator and an efficient negotiator, and most importantly, as a man of principle and integrity.” He added that Ukraine “would welcome his active participation.” Despite Russia’s claims of willingness to negotiate, Kuleba told the press that: “They regularly say that they are ready for negotiations, which is not true, because everything they do on the battlefield proves the opposite.”
Meanwhile, Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky had presented a 10-point peace plan at the G-20 Summit in November in Indonesia that included restoration of Ukraine’s territorial integrity, removal of all Russian troops from that territory, release of all prisoners and punishment for war crimes along with security guarantees. Also on Monday, Kuleba pushed for Russia to be held accountable for atrocities committed during the war, emphasizing that Russia would only be invited to peace negotiations on these terms. During Zelensky’s visit to the White House last week, he said that President Biden had put his full support behind the peace proposal.
