Ukraine Invites Russia to Peace Summit

Ukraine is planning to organize a new peace summit by the end of this year, with hopes that Russia will participate, according to Ukraine's ambassador to Turkey, Vasyl Bodnar.

The ambassador announced the initiative during a press conference in Ankara, stating that one of the summit's main objectives is to secure a fair peace for Ukraine and open the door to negotiations through third-party mediation.

Meanwhile, Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova emphasized that achieving a fair peace in Ukraine would be impossible if Kyiv abandons its neutrality by joining military alliances such as NATO.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has previously declared that peace talks would only begin if Ukraine agreed to relinquish large areas of territory that Russia has claimed and if Ukraine halted its efforts to join NATO.

Reports from Western sources suggest that discussions are ongoing about a possible compromise in which Ukraine could join NATO in exchange for accepting Russian control over certain territories.

Zakharova reiterated that without ensuring Ukraine's neutral status, a fair peace deal cannot be reached. She also highlighted that Russia's military actions in Ukraine, which Moscow refers to as a "special military operation," are a response to NATO's eastern expansion.