contacts with the Russian Federation are possible after the conference in Switzerland

The goal of the international conference on peace in Ukraine, which will be held in June in Switzerland without Russia’s participation, is to create a coalition of countries with common approaches to a peaceful settlement. After this, it is possible to involve Russia in the negotiations. About it said in an interview with the American publication Foreign Policy, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Dmitry Kuleba.

According to him, diplomacy textbooks say that negotiations must involve two sides, but the case with Russia is special, since negotiations with it, which were conducted in different formats from 2014 to 2022, eventually ended with a full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Therefore, according to Kuleba, although achieving peace really requires two sides, negotiations with Russia should be preceded either by defeating it on the battlefield, or by creating a broad international coalition that could put forward peace terms to Russia. Otherwise, according to Kuleba, Moscow will not behave in good faith at the negotiations.

The head of the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry also criticized the West for the fact that it has not yet finally made it clear to Moscow that after the end of the war, Ukraine in any case should become part of the Euro-Atlantic community. He called for speeding up the process of inviting Ukraine to NATO, as well as its accession to the EU. According to the head of the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry, the United States and its allies should look at Russia as long as it is led by Vladimir Putin as an enemy and build a policy accordingly. He also noted the important role of relations with China, suggesting that it is Beijing that has powerful leverage over Russia, which is “entirely in the hands of China.” According to Kuleba, China received an invitation to a meeting in Switzerland.

Speaking about the recently approved US assistance package for Ukraine for this year, Kuleba noted that the actual deliveries of weapons and ammunition provided for in this package have not yet begun, and a dangerous situation remains at the front. In particular, he noted the lack of air defense forces, including protection against ballistic missiles. According to Kuleba, as a result of Russian shelling, about half of Ukraine’s energy infrastructure was disabled.

Kuleba noted that during the two years of war, the Russian military-industrial complex showed greater efficiency than the military-industrial complex of the West. He called for this to change, noting that Ukraine’s defeat in the war would also be a defeat for the United States and its allies.

• The conference, which in Ukraine is called a peace summit, will take place at the Bürgenstock resort in the canton of Nidwalden, near the city of Lucerne, on June 15 and 16. Representatives from dozens of countries around the world are expected to attend. The Swiss government said the meeting should be a platform for high-level dialogue on ways to achieve a comprehensive, just and lasting peace in Ukraine based on international law and the UN Charter, while developing a concrete plan for Russia’s participation in the peace process.
• At the same time, Moscow has repeatedly stated that it will not participate in the negotiations in Switzerland, even if Russia were invited to them. The Russian Foreign Ministry explained this by the fact that Switzerland, having joined the sanctions against Moscow in connection with the invasion of Ukraine, ceased to be a neutral mediator.