Ukrainian FM says he hopes to hold ‘peace summit’ by February

Ukraine’s foreign minister says his government is aiming to have a peace summit by the end of February, preferably at the United Nations with Secretary-General António Guterres as a possible mediator, around the time of the anniversary of Russia’s war.

Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba tells The Associated Press that he was “absolutely satisfied” with the results of President Volodymyr Zelensky’s visit to the US last week, and he reveals that the US government has made a special plan to get the Patriot missile battery ready to be operational in the country in less than six months. Usually, the training takes up to a year.

Kuleba says during the interview at the Foreign Ministry that Ukraine will do whatever it can to win the war in 2023, adding that diplomacy always plays an important role.

“Every war ends in a diplomatic way,” he says. “Every war ends as a result of the actions taken on the battlefield and at the negotiating table.”

Kuleba says that the Ukrainian government would like to have a peace summit by the end of February.

“The United Nations could be the best venue for holding this summit, because this is not about making a favor to a certain country,” he says. “This is really about bringing everyone on board.”

Asked about whether they would invite Russia to the summit, he says that first that country would need to be seated to be prosecuted for war crimes at an international court, for example.

“They can only be invited to this step in this way,” Kuleba says.