Zelenskyy Urges Biden and Xi to Attend Ukrainian Peace Summit
The Facts
Ukrainian Pres. Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Sunday urged world leaders — namely Pres. Joe Biden of the US and Premier Xi Jinping of China — to attend a Ukrainian peace summit that will be held in Switzerland next month.
Zelenskyy made the plea in the aftermath of a Russian missile strike on the northeastern city of Kharkiv a day earlier. At least 16 people were killed and dozens more were injured after a DIY hypermarket was struck.
The Spin
Ukraine is right to be distrustful of Russia's presence at any peace talks. It knows that for Russia, such talks are merely a tool that they're willing to manipulate and later ignore to achieve their wider goals. History shows this to be the case, demonstrated when pro-Russia proxies invaded parts of Ukraine in 2014 and again in 2022 when Russia launched its fully fledged invasion.
Whatever comes out of the Ukrainian Peace Summit is null and void. How can you try to have a negotiated settlement to the war with only one side of the conflict? If Ukraine is real about bringing the war to an end, it must negotiate with Russia.
