President Zelensky calls on US and China to join peace conference

Photo: Press Service of the Office of the President of Ukraine.

Ukraine hopes to host as many countries as possible at the Kyiv-hosted conference in Switzerland next month, a summit designed to unite international opinion on how to end the war and put pressure on Russian President Vladimir Putin.

In a video filmed in the northeastern Ukrainian city of Kharkiv, at the ruins of a printing factory that burned down after a Russian missile strike on Thursday, Zelenskiy spoke in English, extending invitations to countries and saying more than 80 countries would attend the conference.

It is unclear whether Biden will attend the summit. Beijing, whose government has close ties to Moscow, has also not said whether it will attend.

A US official said on Sunday that the US would attend the summit, but did not say who would be involved or at what level.

“I extend an invitation to world leaders who are not currently participating in the international effort of the International Peace Summit – to President Biden, the leader of the United States, and President Xi Jinping, the leader of China,” Mr. Zelensky said in the video.

In its peace plan, Kyiv calls for Russia to withdraw its troops completely and restore internationally recognized national borders.

Over the past week, several Russian sources told Reuters that President Putin was ready to end the war with Ukraine with a ceasefire agreement that recognized the border along the current battlefield lines.

Russia attack

Russian forces have made slow but steady progress in several areas across the eastern frontline in recent months and are trying to push deeper into the Kharkiv region in northeastern Ukraine after launching a ground offensive earlier this month.

The region's main city has been hit by repeated airstrikes and rockets, including an airstrike on a printing plant that killed seven people, and an airstrike on Saturday on a hardware store that killed 17 people.

In the video report, President Zelensky also said that Russia is preparing its military for “new operations” in the northwestern Kharkiv region along the Russia-Ukraine border.

Ukraine's military leadership said last week that its forces were preparing for a possible Russian attack on the Sumy region bordering Kharkiv.

Nguyen Quang Minh (according to Reuters)

Source: https://www.nguoiduatin.vn/tong-thong-zelensky-keu-goi-my-va-trung-quoc-tham-gia-hoi-nghi-hoa-binh-204665470.htm