By Michael Hernandez
WASHINGTON (AA) - Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told world leaders Tuesday that Russian President Vladimir Putin will only agree to peace with Kyiv if he is forced.
The comments come as Zelenskyy prepares for a White House sit-down Thursday with US President Joe Biden to discuss what the executive mansion has billed as an opportunity for Kyiv to lay out its "strategic planning" for the ongoing war. The Ukrainian president has said he will lay out his "victory plan" during the meeting.
"Putin has broken so many international norms and rules that he won't stop on his own, Russia can only be forced into peace," Zelenskyy told foreign ministers and global leaders at the UN Security Council.
"That is exactly what's needed, forcing Russia into peace at the sole aggressor in this war, the sole violator of the UN Charter," he added.
Zelenskyy told ABC News on Monday that "we are closer to the peace than we think," and said Putin is "afraid" of an ongoing push by Ukrainian forces in Russia's Kursk region, which began more than a month ago on Aug. 6. Russia has acknowledged losing control of entire districts, describing the situation as an "emergency."
"It's true. He's afraid very much," Zelenskyy said during the interview. "Why? Because his people saw that he can't defend all his territory."
Ukraine's Foreign Ministry earlier Tuesday said temporary solutions to the war will “merely postpone” the conflict rather than bring a “lasting peace.”
It called for the implementation of Zelenskyy’s 10-step peace formula, which he laid out at the 2022 G20 summit in Indonesia, with its final step being the signing of a peace accord between Kyiv and Moscow.
The statement said Russia’s withdrawal from Ukraine is one of the mandatory points of the formula, indicating that the aforementioned provision, as well as other provisions, will “guarantee a comprehensive, just, and lasting peace not only for Ukraine, but for the entire European continent and the world.”