Moscow: Russian President Vladimir Putin has suggested that China, India, and Brazil could mediate in potential peace talks over Ukraine. He referred to a preliminary agreement that was reached between Russian and Ukrainian negotiators in the initial weeks of the war during talks held in Istanbul. Although this agreement was never implemented, he suggested that it could form the basis for future discussions.
"We respect our friends and partners who I think are sincerely interested in addressing and resolving all the issues associated with the conflict (with Ukraine). China, Brazil, India... I am in contact with my partners and I have no doubt that the leaders of these countries, and we have the relations of trust and confidence with one another, will be really interested in providing a helping hand," said the Russian President at the plenary of the Eastern Economic Forum (EEF), reported by RT.
Last month, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy proposed India among a handful of Global South countries for hosting the second Ukraine peace summit and conveyed his idea to Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The inaugural peace summit was held at a resort near Lucerne in Switzerland in June. It was attended by more than 90 countries and global institutions with a sole focus on bringing peace to Ukraine.
At a media briefing, Zelenskyy said he told Prime Minister Modi that the peace summit could be hosted in India. Modi conveyed to Zelenskyy that both Ukraine and Russia should sit together without wasting time to end the ongoing war and that India was ready to play an "active role" to restore peace in the region.
Putin further recalled that his country and Ukraine had essentially reached a peace deal – based on a Ukrainian commitment to neutrality – during the Istanbul talks soon after at the beginning of the conflict, but accused Western powers of derailing these efforts as they sought Russia’s "strategic defeat".
Ukraine's behavior under these circumstances raised questions, he noted. Kyiv announced general mobilization shortly after the start of the conflict with Russia, but widespread draft dodging and graft were reported. This spring, in a bid to recover military losses, the Ukrainian government passed two bills, one lowering the draft age from 27 to 25, and the other significantly tightening mobilization rules.
The Russian leader also opined that the high casualties incurred by the Ukrainian military since its incursion in Russia’s Kursk Region could render its armed forces useless. He said the Ukrainian attempt to disrupt the Russian advance with the massive attack across the border last month had backfired.
