Zelenskyy Urges Biden and Xi to Attend Ukrainian Peace Summit

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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.1
  • 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.2
  • While claiming that 80 countries have confirmed their participation in the June 15 event, the Ukrainian leader singled out Biden and Xi, whose attendance has not been confirmed, in urging them to be participants. 'Please show your leadership in advancing the peace,' Zelenskyy said to them.3
  • Last week, it was reported in Bloomberg that Biden will miss the conference as he's currently scheduled to attend a presidential fundraiser in California.4
  • Meanwhile, Ukraine has insisted that Russia's presence is not required at this stage. In turn, Russian officials have stated there can be a negotiated settlement without its participation — adding they will not accept conditions that have been imposed on them, particularly if they fail to take into account Russia's requirements.5
  • On Friday, in a report in Reuters that cited four senior Russian officials, the sources said Russian Pres. Vladimir Putin is prepared to end the war in Ukraine with a negotiated settlement — as long as the conflict is frozen on current battlefield lines.6

Sources: 1NBC, 2Guardian, 3Sky News, 4Kyiv Post, 5TASS and 6Reuters.

Narratives

  • Pro-establishment narrative, as provided by CNN. 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.
  • Pro-Russia narrative, as provided by TASS. 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.

Predictions