German public broadcaster ARD claims an unofficial international meeting aimed at ending the conflict has already taken place in Copenhagen
FILE PHOTO: Ukrainian servicemen fire an artillery called 2S7 Pion howitzer cannon. © Muhammed Enes Yildirim / Anadolu Agency via Getty Images
Peace negotiations on the Ukraine conflict could begin as early as next month, German TV channel ARD has claimed. According to the public broadcaster, senior officials from a number of global powers held a meeting last week in the Danish capital Copenhagen to discuss the issue.
ARD reported on Sunday that US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan was among the dignitaries present at the event. According to the broadcaster, the main objective of the gathering was to secure the support of ‘neutral’ countries such as China, India, Brazil and South Africa.
The high-ranking meeting represented a major step forward toward actual peace negotiations, ARD claimed. Citing its Brussels bureau, it added that talks could get underway as early as July.
Last Thursday, the Financial Times reported that Sullivan, along with high-ranking State Department official Victoria Nuland, would head a “diplomatic offensive” at Ukraine’s request. Their purported objective was to convince powers from the ‘Global South’ to scale back their relations with Russia.
However, the officials were not confident of succeeding, the FT claimed. The newspaper quoted an anonymous European official as acknowledging that the “rest of the world is not convinced” by the West’s stance.
Brazil, India, China and South Africa are all members of BRICS – an economic bloc that counts Russia as its fifth member. They have all refused to toe the Western line and impose sanctions on Moscow over its actions during the conflict with Ukraine.
