Ukraine should not be excluded from the talks to end the war, Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda said in Vilnius. He made the statement against the backdrop of a possible trilateral meeting between the presidents of Russia, the United States and China in November.
“Ukraine itself must be included in the talks“, Nauseda said. According to him, the formats proposed by Moscow, which only involve China, the United States and Russia, raise concerns that a scenario reminiscent of the distribution of spheres of influence after World War II could be repeated.
Possible meeting in China
Russia is seeking a meeting between Vladimir Putin, Donald Trump and Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum. The event is planned for November in the Chinese city of Shenzhen.
Donald Trump has said he is open to such a conversation. The US president has said that a meeting between the three largest nuclear powers on the issue of nuclear disarmament would be "a very good thing for the world". He added that other topics could be discussed in possible talks, including the war in Ukraine.
For now, this is a possible format, not a confirmed agreement for negotiations or a specific peace plan. The information provided does not indicate a final date for the meeting.
Lithuania also wants European participation
Nausėda said that Beijing's mediation actions cannot be considered completely impartial as long as China continues to support Russia's war against Ukraine.
According to the Lithuanian president, there should also be a European representative in the talks. However, he stressed that before that, "very clear criteria" for European participation must be defined.
Nausėda pointed to European Council President Antonio Costa as a possible representative of the European Union. Thus, Vilnius poses two main questions for the future diplomatic process: Ukraine to be present at the negotiating table, and Europe to have a clearly defined role in it.
Sources: bta.bg, lrt.lt