Zelensky attends the European Council Summit in Brussels last week. EPA-EFE/OLIVIER HOSLET
Russia and Ukraine ceasing the attacks on each other’s energy targets could lead to eventual negotiations to end the war in Ukraine, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in an interview with The Financial Times (FT) on Tuesday.
“We saw during the first [peace] summit that there could be a decision on energy security. In other words: we do not attack their energy infrastructures, they don’t attack ours. Could this lead to the end of the war’s hot phase? I think so,” the FT quoted Zelensky as saying.
That, combined with an end to aerial attacks on Ukrainian cargo ships, could pave the way for negotiations to end the war, Zelensky said.
Losses on the battlefield and the prospect of a winter of power cuts have prompted Zelensky to accelerate his efforts to get Western support for his “victory plan”, according to the FT.
Zelensky presented his five-point plan for victory in the war against Russia last week, which would see Kyiv join NATO and further security guarantees to deter Russia from attacking again, stressing that the implementation of the plan had to begin now in order to bring the war to an end next year.
The Kremlin branded Zelensky’s plan “ephemeral” last week, with Vladimir Putin’s spokesperson Dmitry Peskov saying that “a truly peaceful plan” would include Kyiv “realising the futility of the policy they are pursuing”.
As the US presidential election approaches, Zelensky faces increased pressure to look for a negotiated end to the conflict, the FT wrote, noting Donald Trump had vowed to end the war “on day one” if he won.
A second Ukrainian peace summit, which had been slated for November, was postponed earlier this month, as Kyiv now hopes to hold the summit by the end of the year. Despite Zelensky saying in September that Russian representatives should be invited to the second summit to lay the groundwork for future talks, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova immediately poured cold water on peace prospects by saying Russia would not attend the second peace summit.
