Yermak meets foreign diplomats to discuss Zelensky's peace formula

Presidential Office head Andrii Yermak held a second meeting with foreign diplomats to discuss the implementation of President Volodymyr Zelensky's 10-point peace formula, the Presidential Office said on July 5.

This follows the first round of consultations that took place on June 30, the statement said.

According to the press release, the event was attended by the ambassadors of the G7 countries, the head of the EU Delegation to Ukraine, and the heads of diplomatic missions of Turkey, South Africa, China, Denmark, Brazil, India, Spain, Indonesia, South Korea, Australia, Saudi Arabia, Argentina, Poland, Slovakia, Czechia, the United Nations, and the Vatican.

The meeting was said to focus on the issues of radiation, nuclear, food, and energy security, as well as the territorial integrity of Ukraine.

"The support of each of you is very important to us, because now there are people at this table who respect the territorial integrity, sovereignty, and independence of our state, and it is extremely important for us to hear you," Yermak said in his opening remarks.

During the meeting held at the Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War, special attention was paid to consultations on the release of military and civilian prisoners held by Russia.

To that effect, Major Dmytro Andriushchenko, Commanding Officer of the Azov National Guard Brigade, and State Border Guard Service Lieutenant Oleksandra Kruchenko, defenders of Mariupol and Azovstal who survived Russian captivity and were released in October 2022, attended the meeting at the Coordination Headquarters.

"The release of all prisoners and deportees is one of the points of the Peace Formula initiated by Volodymyr Zelensky, and our state continues active consultations with all interested countries regarding its implementation," Yermak commented.

According to the press release, representatives of the Main Directorate of Intelligence (HUR) were also present, including its chief Kyrylo Budanov.

The intelligence officers presented the diplomats with the process of retrieving captured military personnel and civilians and briefed them on the situation at the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant concerning Russian nuclear terror threats.

Zelensky presented a ten-point peace plan to end Russia's war in Ukraine on Nov. 15, 2022.

The plan envisages preventing ecocide in Ukraine, punishing those responsible for war crimes, withdrawing all Russian troops from the territory of Ukraine, restoration of Ukraine's territorial integrity, and the release of all prisoners of war and deportees. The proposals also call for ensuring energy security, food security, and nuclear safety.

On May 21, 2023, the president proposed to hold the Summit of the Peace Formula in July, a "symbolic" time when Ukraine will mark 500 days of defending against Russia's full-scale invasion.

Dietzen, Druckman: Vilnius NATO Summit – Accelerating Ukraine’s membership and deterring Moscow and Minsk

This month’s NATO summit takes place at a time of both peril and opportunity for the future of European security. The Wagner Group’s June 24 sprint from Rostov to the gates of Moscow dealt a fresh blow to criticism of NATO’s decision to extend a Membership Action

The Kyiv IndependentMark Dietzen