By Tom Balmforth
(Reuters) – A global “peace summit” for Ukraine may now take place in February 2024, a top Kyiv official said on Thursday amid concerns in the West that the war in Gaza is making it harder to win over diplomatic support for Kyiv’s blueprint for peace.
Ukraine had aimed to hold a summit of world leaders this year as it tries to build a global coalition of support to endorse a 10-point “formula” for peace drafted by President Volodymyr Zelenskiy.
Kyiv has organised a series of talks attended by dozens of countries without Russia, mostly recently in Malta at the level of national security advisers, to work towards the summit, with Russia’s war now in its 21st month.
Ihor Zhovkva, Zelenskiy’s top diplomatic adviser, told Reuters on Thursday that Ukraine would arrange a fourth meeting of national security advisers in late November or early December.
“And the Global Summit might take place in February 2024,” he said in a written statement.
“The summit will definitely take place, as it will mark both the symbolic beginning of the practical implementation of the Ukrainian ‘peace formula’ and summarize all the results that have already been achieved on this track.”
The 10-point plan includes calls for the restoration of Ukraine’s territorial integrity, withdrawal of Russian troops, protection of food and energy supplies, nuclear safety and the release of all prisoners.
Ukraine has sought for months to build up relations with governments in Africa, Asia and Latin America.
But privately Western officials say they are concerned the conflict in the Middle East will deal a setback to Ukraine’s push to broaden its support and that it will also distract attention from Kyiv’s cause.
Zhovkva acknowledged the events in the Middle East were affecting agenda priorities for countries in the region, but noted that last month’s talks in Malta were still attended by Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Qatar.
“We don’t need the summit for the sake of summit. We are talking about the widest possible involvement of the leaders of the Global South. Therefore, we must carefully consider the time and place of the Summit,” he said.
On Thursday, Zelenskiy said he had discussed preparations for the summit with the presidents of Indonesia and Paraguay, asking them to join the effort.
The peace formula talks do not involve Russia, which launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 and has occupied nearly a fifth of the country. Russia has rejected the peace “formula”, saying it would be impossible to implement.
(Reporting by Tom Balmforth; Editing by Leslie Adler)
