Zelenskyy gave the G20 leaders a list. At the summit in November 2022 he presented a ten-point peace formula, and he told the room it could “save thousands of lives” while restoring international law and global stability, as Newsweek recounted.
On closer reading, the list is less a bargaining position than an opening statement about what Kyiv will accept. The first four items are practical. The fifth and sixth are the ones that matter.
The first four points
Point one covers radiation and nuclear safety, chiefly restoring security around the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in Russian-occupied Ukraine. Point two deals with food security, protecting Ukraine’s grain exports to the world’s poorest nations. Point three is energy: price restrictions on Russian energy resources, plus help rebuilding Ukraine’s power infrastructure. Point four calls for the release of prisoners and deportees, and Al Jazeera notes that this includes children taken to Russia.
Borders and troops
Here the formula stops being a menu. Point five requires Russia to reaffirm Ukraine’s borders under the UN Charter, and Zelenskyy said that point is “not up to negotiations.” Point six demands that Russian troops withdraw and fighting cease, with Ukraine’s state borders restored. The catch is plain: no one at the G20 table was offering Moscow a reason to agree.
Justice, ecology, guarantees
Point seven asks for a special tribunal to prosecute Russian war crimes. Point eight, countering ecocide, bundles environmental protection with demining and the repair of water treatment facilities. Point nine aims at preventing escalation through a Euro-Atlantic security architecture that includes guarantees for Ukraine. The last point is a document, signed by the parties, confirming the war is over.
The reception
Al Jazeera reported on December 28, 2022 that Russia had rejected the proposal that month. The Western response stayed cautious despite Zelenskyy’s diplomatic push. He kept pressing anyway; Newsweek reported that he repeated the demands to French President Macron by phone ahead of a Group of Seven meeting and a Ukraine support conference in Paris.
Sources
- What is Zelenskyy's 10-point peace plan?
- Zelensky Reiterates His Ten Demands For Peace During Call With Macron
