Serbian deputy PM: Russia, Ukraine to reach peace eventually

Serbian Deputy Prime Minister Aleksandar Vulin has said that Serbia is confident that, sooner or later, Russia and Ukraine will inevitably reach a peace agreement.

"In the end, peace will prevail, and an agreement will be reached. However, it is currently quite difficult to determine with whom Russia can negotiate," he remarked, Caliber.Az reports via Russian media.

Vulin reminded that Russia attempted to negotiate with Ukraine in Istanbul and even signed an agreement two years ago.

"What happened? The key negotiator was killed, and everything was over," he pointed out. "So, who should they negotiate with: the West or Ukraine? I am very concerned, and Serbia is very concerned, and we hope that peace will finally prevail." 

The deputy prime minister said that Serbia supports initiatives like China's peace proposal, as it reflects genuine goodwill and a desire to find a peaceful resolution.  

The first negotiations between Russia and Ukraine following the beginning of the special military operation were held in Belarus in early March 2022; however, they yielded no significant results. On March 29, 2022, another round of talks was held in Istanbul, where Moscow received, for the first time, documented principles from Kyiv regarding a potential future agreement.  

The agreement included commitments regarding Ukraine's neutral, non-aligned status and a pledge to refrain from hosting foreign military forces on its territory, including nuclear weapons. However, the negotiation process was unilaterally suspended by Ukraine.  

Later, in November 2023, member of the Ukrainian negotiation team David Arakhamia revealed in an interview with Ukraine's "1+1" channel that UK’s former Prime Minister Boris Johnson had prohibited Kyiv from signing any peace agreements with Russia following the Istanbul talks and had called for the continuation of hostilities against Russia.

By Naila Huseynova