Ukraine will seek international support for its 10-point peace programme at the United Nations

First Deputy Foreign Minister of Ukraine Zapalova speaks outside the Security Council floor at UN Headquarters. (12 January 2023)

Ukraine’s deputy foreign minister said Thursday (Jan. 12) that Kiev will seek a resolution from the UN General Assembly establishing a 10-point peace package proposed by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

Speaking to reporters at the United Nations, First Deputy Foreign Minister Emine Dzhaparova of Ukraine said: “The number one priority decided by the Ukrainian leadership in February is this resolution focused on the peace programme. “She attended a meeting on the rule of law in the Council.

February 24 marks the first anniversary of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

Last November, President Zelensky delivered a video speech at the G20 summit and proposed his 10-point peace plan to end Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine.

The package includes the withdrawal of Russian troops, a ceasefire and nuclear security, food and energy security, and the release of prisoners of war and deportees.

Zapalova said Ukraine’s ambassador to the UN, Sergiy Kyslytsya, “will now continue to push the process of considering this resolution, because we may request a special meeting to adopt this resolution.”

She stressed that the peace package is the basis for discussion, but this does not mean that Ukraine is ready to sign any agreement that goes against its interests.

“We are very committed to any peace negotiation that can bring us to the only outcome: territorial integrity, sovereignty, peace for our people,” she said. “But, as my president has always pointed out, we will not trade an inch of Ukrainian land, and we will not discuss any peace negotiations if Russian troops do not withdraw from Ukraine.”

However, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has said that Kremlin officials will refuse to use Zelensky’s “peace package” as a basis for negotiations. According to the state-run Russian News Agency (RIA), he called Kiev’s intention to drive Russia out of eastern Ukraine and Crimea an “illusion.”

The Kremlin said on Jan. 5 that Putin had told Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan that Moscow was ready for peace talks, but only if Ukraine “took into account new territorial realities,” meaning that Kiev recognize the territory Russia had declared annexed.

Ukraine may also seek a second resolution from the General Assembly later this year calling for the establishment of a special international tribunal to prosecute the Russian leadership for aggression in connection with its invasion of Ukraine, Zapalova said.

The International Criminal Court in The Hague is already investigating war crimes and crimes against humanity that may have occurred in Ukraine since the Russian invasion.