Zelensky: “We are ready for peace; does Russia want to stop waging war?”

Brussels – Ukraine is ready to sit at the negotiating table and discuss conditions to end the conflict with Russia. Still, it is not a simple and obvious exercise, in which the real question mark is the Kremlin’s intentions. The Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelensky, shares with EU heads of state and government what his biggest doubt is: “The Ukrainians really want peace, but not at the cost of giving up Ukraine. Is Russia capable of renouncing the war? this is the question that any negotiations must answer.” This is the fear he wanted to share while attending the extraordinary summit of the European Council.

As proof of true intentions, Zelensky confides to the Twenty-Seven that “our teams, those of Ukraine and the United States, have resumed work.” Discussions and negotiations are back on, despite the  rift in the White House just a week ago. This is a positive and constructive development, which bodes well in the first instance for the Ukrainian authorities and could also instill confidence in an EU worried about having to redefine relations with its transatlantic partner. That is why the Ukrainian president calls on European allies to “support us in this” diplomatic effort that is more than just words: “Ukraine is not only ready to take the necessary steps for peace, but we are also proposing what those steps are.”

In  Zelensky’s peace plan, “two forms of warfare silence” can be sought as they are “easy to establish and monitor.” On the one hand, he explains to EU leaders, stop attacks on energy infrastructure and civilian targets, in the form of a truce for long-range missiles, bombs, and drones. Second condition: truce by sea, meaning “no military operations in the Black Sea.”

Zelensky’s speech garners appreciation and support from interlocutors without overcoming reservations around the table. Viktor Orban’s Hungary continues not wanting to hear reason for escalating tensions with Moscow. It maintains its veto threat to the leaders’ conclusions. At the same time, Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni reiterates Italy’s “no” to sending troops on Ukrainian soil, not even for peacekeeping missions—few distinctions in a European Union that nonetheless sides with Ukraine and its President Zelensky.