Kamal Ghorui
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Wednesday expressed readiness for peace talks with Russia at “any moment and any format”, Reuters reported.The war-torn nation is seeking direct, face-to-face talks between Zelenskyy and Russian President Vladimir Putin, according to Kyiv’s top diplomat, who described a possible summit as a way to reinvigorate US-led efforts to end Russia’s more than four-year war in Ukraine.
Moreover, Kyiv has sought Turkey’s assistance in arranging high-level talks and has also approached other countries as possible hosts, Ukrainian foreign minister Andrii Sybiha said, adding that Ukraine would be open to any location except Russia and Belarus.“We are … advocating for a (summit) meeting now to bring new momentum to diplomacy,” AP quoted Sybiha saying.US-mediated talks between Moscow and Kyiv over the past year have yielded little progress on core issues, including the status of four Ukrainian regions Russia seeks to fully control but does not entirely occupy. With Washington now focused on the Iran conflict, diplomatic efforts have largely stalled.Zelenskyy has agreed to an unconditional ceasefire proposed by US President Donald Trump, but Putin has rejected it.
