Ukraine Seeks Peace Talks With Russia, Without Putin
By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent Worthy News
KYIV/BUDAPEST (Worthy News) – Ukraine says it wants peace talks to end Russia’s incursion, but not directly with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Kyiv seeks an agreement similar to the Black Sea grain deal between the two nations, which allowed Ukraine, a key bread basket, to transport grain to the rest of the world again.
The peace pact discussed in Kyiv is inspired by the July 2022 accord that allowed Ukraine to resume grain exports out of the Black Sea.
Under that diplomatic format, Russia and Ukraine worked on separate agreements overseen by the United Nations and Turkey as intermediaries.
That avoided the need for direct talks between the presidents of Ukraine and Russia, who appear in no mood to meet each other.
Ukraine’s desire is based on a 10-point plan drawn up by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in 2022.
It covers topics ranging from food and energy security to restoring Ukraine’s territorial integrity and withdrawing Russian troops.
Moscow previously said the plan was unacceptable. However, Kyiv believes it has more chances this time because its troops have claimed control over more than 1,000 square kilometers (386 square miles) of land inside Russia.
HUMAN MISERY
President Zelenskyy said the incursion into Russia’s Kursk and Belgorod regions is aimed at improving his country’s negotiation position and creating a buffer zone to make it more difficult for Russian troops to attack Ukraine.
However, this has also led to human misery.
Footage has emerged of frightened and crying people being evacuated from villages in the Kursk region and taking shelter at a local boxing center.
Authorities say more than 120,000 people have been evacuated from areas of the region impacted by fighting between Ukrainian and Russian forces that they say killed more than a dozen people so far.
Ukrainian authorities have pledged to allow civilians to evacuate through humanitarian corridors connecting to parts of Russia and Ukraine.
At least dozens of evacuees lined up in the Kursk area to receive humanitarian aid.
Lying on a bed, the elderly Tatyana Anikeeva said: “We were rushing from Suja. The car almost touched the pavement. We hid in the bushes. Volunteers were handing out water, food, and bread to people on the go.”
RATTLING WINDOWS
She recalled that “The sound of the cannonade continued without any break. The house was shaking. All the windows were rattling. All the furniture was moving around.”
Dmitriy Guliyev helped people to leave their homes. “When we evacuated them, there were Ukrainian soldiers there in the morning and, unfortunately, also in the evening. However, we managed to find a moment when our guys were there and get these people out.”
He added that this wasn’t easy as the skies are, in his words, “filled with drones there. This is the front line.”
With the ongoing fighting, Russian President Vladimir Putin has made clear that this is not the moment for peace talks.
He says Ukraine is creating a humanitarian disaster on the ground while targeting nuclear facilities. Moscow has faced similar accusations, however.
Yet despite these differences, Kyiv wants to organize a second peace summit by the end of this year.
Unlike the first one, Ukraine has invited Russia, though Moscow has so far shown no intention to participate.
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