(Dan Tri) – Ukraine’s senior intelligence official admitted that Kiev will at some point have to participate in negotiations with Russia to end the conflict.
Ukrainian intelligence general Vadim Skibitsky (Photo: Getty).
Major General Vadym Skibitsky, deputy director of Ukraine’s HUR military intelligence agency, told the Economist magazine that negotiations between Russia and Ukraine will eventually need to take place, just like any other war.
`General Skibitsky said he saw no way Ukraine could win on the battlefield on its own. Even if they could push Russian forces back to the border – an increasingly remote prospect – war would
`Mr. Skibitsky said such wars can only end with treaties. Currently, both sides are jostling for the `most advantageous position` ahead of potential negotiations. But the negotiations have
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and other officials said Russia was not invited to a `peace summit` scheduled for Switzerland in June because there was no guarantee that Moscow would negotiate a way.
Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba seemed to share Skibitsky’s view, saying in an interview this week with Foreign Policy magazine that the goal of the Swiss summit is to `connect countries with
`Then the exchange with Russia can take place and Russia can participate in the negotiations. Because in the end, you cannot end the war without the participation of both sides,` he said.
The Swiss Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced that the country has invited more than 160 delegations to the conference on Ukraine, including G7, G20 and BRICS countries.
According to a statement by the Swiss Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the purpose of the June 15-16 conference in Burgenstock is to `bring the future peace process closer and develop practical steps towards it`.
Swiss authorities said that all participating countries `will be able to express their ideas and vision for a just and lasting peace in Ukraine`.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova announced on May 2 that Moscow will not participate in the conference on Ukraine in Switzerland, or any other event related to the `peace formula` of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
Kiev’s peace formula calls for Russia to withdraw its troops from Ukrainian territory, as well as establish a court to prosecute top Russian officials for waging the war.
Russia announced its willingness to negotiate, but on the condition that Ukraine must acknowledge `new territorial realities`.
US Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines on May 2 predicted that Russia’s military campaign in Ukraine is unlikely to end soon.
Olivia 
Jackson