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Military operation in Ukraine

Ukraine sees EU, China, US as mediators in peace talks with Russia — Zelensky

At the same time, the Ukrainian leader once again declared that his so-called peace formula had no alternatives, dismissing other proposals to end the conflict

MOSCOW, July 8./TASS/. The European Union, China and the US can act as mediators in peace talks between Ukraine and Russia, since they have strong economies and armies, Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky said.

"Only serious and strong allies can mediate. <...> Are there a lot of these countries in the world? No, not a lot. I think the United States is one of these countries, China and the European Union. Not just one country, but the entire EU. It can be a kind of a mediation mission," he said at a news conference with Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk in Warsaw, broadcast by Rada TV channel.

At the same time, Zelensky once again declared that his so-called peace formula had no alternatives, dismissing other proposals to end the conflict. He noted that Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban's decision to head to Moscow for talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin was his personal initiative and was not coordinated with Kiev.

Earlier, the Ukrainian leader noted that certain issues could be settled with Russia in negotiations and that a document could be drafted rather quickly.

President Vladimir Putin said at a meeting with the leadership of the Foreign Ministry on June 14 that Ukrainian forces need to withdraw from the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics, as well as the Kherson and Zaporozhye Regions. He said that as soon as Kiev declares it is ready to do this and actually starts withdrawing its troops from those regions, and as soon as it formally renounces its plans to join NATO, Russia "will immediately order a ceasefire and embrace talks."

He also mentioned Kiev's refusal to join NATO. In addition, Russia considers it necessary to lift all Western sanctions against it and establish Ukraine's non-aligned and nuclear-free status. Putin indicated that if Ukraine and the West turn down these conditions, they could change in the future. Kiev has rejected the Russian peace plan.

Russia has repeatedly stated that the so-called Ukrainian peace formula is unacceptable. Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov noted that Kiev's statements about a peaceful settlement did not take into account the existing realities on the ground.

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