Ukrainian Presidential Adviser Says Russia Must Be Forced To Attend Peace Summit

Ukrainian President Mykhailo Podolyak Wikimedia Commons/Office of the President of Ukraine)

JAKARTA - Ukrainian Presidential Adviser Mykhailo Podolyak said Russia should be forced to participate in the summit of peace as they will not do so voluntarily.

Podolyak told national TV Tuesday that one of the methods of coercion was an act on the battlefield, referring to an unprecedented cross-border Ukraine attack on Russia's Kursk region.

"Simple calls to Russia will not work, only a set of forcing tools will succeed," he said, meaning economic and diplomatic pressure.

He added, with action in Russia's border region, Ukraine is resolving its own main safety concerns.

"This is the destruction of war infrastructure and the formation of so-called sanitation zones so Russia cannot use there, equipment that attacks deep into Ukrainian territory," he said.

A week after the launch of the attack, Ukraine said it had taken control of 74 Russian settlements and continued to advance.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on July 15, Russian representatives should participate in a second conference on resolving the Ukraine conflict.

Russia considers the peak of the first peace to be meaningless without Moscow's participation. Russia itself has repeatedly expressed its readiness to negotiate with Ukraine over conflict resolution.

Earlier this month, President Putin reiterated Russia's readiness and willingness to negotiate to resolve the Ukrainian conflict, calling for a return to the Istanbul Agreement.

"Russia, as you know, has never rejected peaceful negotiations and is ready to proceed now," said President Putin.

Russia itself has repeatedly expressed its readiness to negotiate with Ukraine over conflict resolution.

Earlier this month, President Putin reiterated Russia's readiness and willingness to negotiate to resolve the Ukrainian conflict, calling for a return to the Istanbul Agreement.

"Russia, as you know, has never rejected peaceful negotiations and is ready to proceed now," said President Putin.