Authoritarian ruler Alexander Lukashenko of Belarus, a close ally of Moscow, believes the time is ripe for peace talks in the war in Ukraine. The front is deadlocked and the conditions for peace talks are in place, the Russian state agency TASS quoted him as saying on Thursday. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy meanwhile accused Russia of trying to prevent the international peace conference that was supposed to take place in Switzerland in June.
Lukashenko is closely linked to his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin, who launched the all-out war of aggression against Ukraine in late February 2022. Proposals discussed between Russian and Ukrainian representatives in Turkey in the first weeks of the war could serve as a starting point for negotiations, Lukashenko said.
Lukashenko warns of ‘end of the world’
At the same time, the autocrat warned that there was a risk of “the end of the world” if Russia used nuclear weapons in retaliation for Western actions. Russia has repeatedly warned that Western support for Ukraine could lead to a direct confrontation with Russia and a nuclear conflict.
Zelenskyy sees no desire for peace in Russia
According to Zelenskyj, Russia wants to prevent a planned international peace conference in Switzerland. In making this statement to Ukrainian diplomats and foreign ambassadors in Kiev, Zelensky cited intelligence information. There are “concrete data that Russia not only wants to disrupt the peace summit, but also has a concrete plan,” the president said on Wednesday evening.
The plan addresses how to reduce the number of countries participating in the conference or “how to proceed to ensure that there is no peace for a longer period of time,” Zelensky said. The head of state said, according to his presidential office, that the partners would be informed of Moscow’s efforts through diplomatic channels. “We must stand together against this, we must work together for a just peace.” The president announced that world leaders should receive invitations to the meeting soon.
Switzerland promotes peace conference
Neutral Switzerland plans a peace conference on Ukraine on June 15 and 16 near Lucerne. It takes place immediately after the G7 summit of leading democratic industrialized countries in Italy. The conference with up to 80 states is intended to convince Russia-friendly powers such as India, South Africa and Brazil of Ukrainian ideas for a peace solution. China in particular is challenged to participate.
Fatal series of uncontrolled attacks
Russia has been waging war against Ukraine for more than two years and has declared all talks without its participation meaningless. Moscow repeatedly confirms its willingness to talk; However, the conditions set essentially amount to a capitulation by Ukraine. Conversely, Ukraine’s goal is to regain all its occupied territories, which would mean failure for Russia in its full-scale invasion.
Source: Krone
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