When Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky recently met with Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Petro Parolin, he once again expressed Ukraine’s urgent desire to end the war with Russia as soon as possible, aiming to minimize the loss of innocent lives. .
In a conversation with Cardinal Parolin, Zelensky expressed his heartfelt thanks to the Holy See for its firm support to Ukraine and emphasized: “We all know that this war must be ended as soon as possible, while trying to avoid More lives lost." This firm and affectionate appeal was spread around the world through a video posted on his telegram channel.
Looking back last week, in an interview with the BBC, Zelensky had clearly expressed his vision to end the "hot phase" of the war by the end of this year and firmly opposed the continuation of the conflict indefinitely, as he said: "No one wants to see this conflict continue for another ten years or more."
However, Zelensky also made it clear that the peace he pursues is not unconditional surrender, but requires the support of Western allies and joint efforts to Russia Propose a "peace plan" that includes core requirements such as territorial integrity, reparations, war crimes trials and membership of NATO. This "peace formula" was first proposed by Zelensky as early as November 2022, but it has not received a positive response from Moscow so far.
It is worth noting that Zelensky signed a decree last year banning any kind of negotiations with Russia while Putin is in power, a stance that contrasts with his recent calls for a quick end to the conflict. This change, perhaps as analyzed by Dr. Witold Sokara, a Polish international relations expert, is closely related to Zelenskiy’s concerns that former US President Trump may return to the White House and change his policy towards Ukraine.
In contrast, Russia has always maintained its willingness to negotiate and proposed a series of ceasefire conditions last month, including Ukraine giving up its willingness to join NATO, withdrawing its troops from areas identified by Russia, and lifting sanctions against Russia. However, the two sides still have huge differences on key issues, and the road to peace is still long and full of challenges.
In this complex international game, every word and every action of Zelensky attracts global attention. His desire and persistence for peace undoubtedly brought a light of hope to the Ukrainian people and provided a new direction of thinking for the international community to solve the Ukrainian crisis.
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