No serious decisions on ending war to be made without Ukraine - Kuleba

The Minister for Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, Dmytro Kuleba, said this at an online briefing on Tuesday, an Ukrinform correspondent reports.

"Recently, there has been a lot of speculation in the mass media on the topic of negotiations with Russia. I emphasize that our position on the issue was clearly voiced by the President at the Group of Twenty summit," Kuleba said.

He recalled that, speaking at the summit, President Volodymyr Zelensky presented a clear plan of ten steps to end the war. In particular, the conditions for the end of the war include the complete withdrawal of Russian troops from the territory of Ukraine and the restoration of the country’s territorial integrity, compensation for damages inflicted by aggression, prosecution of those guilty of war crimes, and provision of effective security guarantees to Ukraine.

"Only real action by Russia, cessation of terrorist attacks on Ukrainian infrastructure, withdrawal of troops from Ukrainian territory, release of all prisoners of war and deportees can open the way to peace. Currently, we do not see such readiness from the Russian side," the head of the MFA stated.

He noted that Russia's actions, on the contrary, demonstrate that they do not seek peace and are not ready to cease aggression, and that the Russian regime, suffering defeats at the front, simply wants to buy time to restore its combat potential and prepare for a new strike.

Kuleba emphasized that the Russian side already frankly admits that the missile strikes on Ukraine’s critical infrastructure are aimed at coercing Ukraine to negotiate.

"Only Ukraine will determine when and how to negotiate with the aggressor. There will be no agreements on Ukraine without Ukraine. We are grateful to our partners for reaffirming their commitment to this position. We count on its preservation and continued support of Ukraine and increased pressure on Russia. This is the only way to force the Kremlin to end the war and restore peace," said the head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Commenting on media reports about proposals, peace plans, and initiatives sent to Russia, he noted that there will always be someone in the world who seeks to take a peacemaking initiative.

"There is nothing sensational in this, nothing threatening for Ukraine. The main thing is that it is not about who sends proposals and who receives them, but about the fact that no serious proposals will be discussed behind Ukraine's back and no decisions will be made without Ukraine," the minister emphasized.

As some media reported, one of the states acting as mediators in setting up negotiations between Russia and Ukraine handed Russian President Volodymyr Putin a draft of a possible peace agreement between the two states on the eve of the G20 summit in Indonesia. The Kremlin denied receiving such a document.