Russia will not participate in peace summit on Ukraine – DW

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Saturday (2024/09/2024) that Russia will not participate in any peace summit for Ukraine based on the formula proposed by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. However, the official made it clear that Moscow does not reject a “political and diplomatic solution to the crisis.”

“Russian representatives have not participated and will not participate in any meeting of the Bürgenstock process (the Swiss city where the first peace summit in Ukraine was held without Russian participation). This process has nothing in common with the search for solutions,” Zagarova said in a statement published by the Foreign Ministry.

The spokesman noted that “the so-called second summit pursues the same goal, namely, to impose approval of the absolutely unworkable “Zelensky formula” as a basis without alternatives for resolving the conflict, to gain its support from the world majority and “in its name to present Russia with an ultimatum of surrender”. In light of this scenario, he decided “that we will not participate in this kind of summit”.

He says that without Russia there is no solution.

“We are ready to discuss really serious proposals, taking into account the situation on the ground, geopolitical realities and the initiative put forward by Russian President Vladimir Putin on June 14,” he said. According to Zakharova, “without relying on Russia and its interests, it is impossible to reach a fair and stable solution.”

The Ukrainian president had indicated that he hoped this time Moscow would attend the summit, which aims to achieve peace based on the Ukrainian proposal that would entail the withdrawal of Russian forces from all Ukrainian territory. Vladimir Putin’s regime considers this formula unworkable, having launched a full-scale invasion of its neighbor in February 2022.

DZC (EFE, AFP)