Ukraine eyes peace summit by year-end that includes Russia, envoy to Turkey says

By Tuvan Gumrukcu

ANKARA (Reuters) - Ukraine aims to organise a new peace summit by the end of this year and wants Russia to attend this time, its ambassador to Turkey said on Wednesday, but ruled out any direct bilateral talks with Moscow at the meeting.

With Russia's invasion of Ukraine in its third year, the two countries remain far apart on how to end the war. Turkey, China, Brazil and others have offered to mediate in the conflict or discuss peace proposals, but no progress has been made.

Ukraine is pursuing President Volodymyr Zelenskiy's "victory plan", while Russian President Vladimir Putin has said peace talks can only begin if Kyiv agrees to abandon large swaths of territory claimed by Moscow and drops its bid to join NATO.

"One of the most important goals of this summit is to reach a fair peace in Ukraine. We are not talking about a format here in which Ukraine and Russia sit across (from) each other and Ukraine listens to Russia's demands," Ambassador Vasyl Bodnar told a briefing in Ankara, via a Turkish interpreter.

"What we see now is this: the international community, along with Ukraine, will sit and create a list on what steps could be taken for a fair peace in Ukraine, and they will discuss what sort of demands to ask Russia based on that list," he said.

"This will not be a direct bilateral meeting, it will most likely be in a format where third parties are also involved and (talks) are done via third parties. We hope to hold this summit by the end of the year."

Bodnar said Turkey, which has sought to maintain cordial ties with both Ukraine and Russia during the war, would be an important attendee due to its experience in mediation of other conflicts.

While supporting Ukraine's territorial integrity, condemning the invasion, and providing it with military support, NATO member Turkey has also opposed Western sanctions on Russia, with which it has important relations in defence, energy and tourism.

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan is expected to attend the Ukraine-Southeast Europe summit in the Croatian city of Dubrovnik on Wednesday. A Turkish diplomatic source said he would reiterate there Ankara's position that any peace talks must include both parties for a "fair and lasting" resolution.

(Reporting by Tuvan Gumrukcu; Editing by Gareth Jones)