Ukraine is maintaining that the withdrawal of Russian troops from Ukrainian territory is critical to its peace plan, according to Deputy Head of the Office of the President Ihor Zhovkva. His statement comes in response to a Wall Street Journal report suggesting Ukraine did not insist on President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s peace plan requiring Russian withdrawal at the recent summit in Saudi Arabia.
Zhovkva made the clarification at a meeting with journalists, LIGA.net reported.
“The head of our delegation spoke three times… And clearly emphasized in every speech that the principle of troop withdrawal is key. No one disputed this,” Zhovkva said.
According to him, no one opposed or argued this point, including countries of the Global South like Brazil and China.
In particular, the head of the German delegation Jens Plötner made a strong statement, Zhovkva added. Therefore, the official from Bankova does not understand where the conflicting information in Western media comes from.
According to European Pravda, Zhovkva also said that Ukraine, answering questions in Jeddah on whether there would be any changes on the order or formulation of the 10-step peace plan, answered that there would be no compromises.
“But there will definitely be a change in tactics. That is why we are now holding talks with partners, such as the meeting in Jeddah,” he said.
The Ukrainian Presidential Office’s head Andriy Yermak also stressed that the peace plan is impossible without withdrawing Russian troops.
The summit in Saudi Arabia’s Jeddah on 5-6 August 2023 gathered 40 countries to discuss Ukraine’s vision for restoring peace. The Office of the President of Ukraine said following the meeting that the participants agreed on “key principles of restoring lasting and just peace for Ukraine.”
Ukraine plans to hold two more summits: one would be foundational and have all the points of President Zelenskyy’s 10-point Peace Formula approved as a basis, while the second would be conclusive, confirm the end of the war, and include Russia.
With reporting by Liga.net