The Council of Heads of the UN General Assembly called for the launch of a peaceful process for Ukraine

The United Nations General Assembly Presidents’ Council has called for the initiation of a peaceful process to resolve the conflict in Ukraine, with an emphasis on the Istanbul Agreement of 2022, which envisions the country’s neutrality.

This is reflected in a declaration adopted following the council’s meeting in Qatar on Friday.

“With regard to the military actions in Ukraine, the Council called for the launch of a peaceful process based on the Istanbul Agreement of 2022,” the document notes.

In particular, this agreement carries the idea of Ukraine’s neutrality along with a “decision on the self-determination of the occupied territories in the form of a referendum under the auspices of the UN,” the declaration says.

Council members believe that these measures could lead to “comprehensive conflict resolution between the parties.”

Additionally, the General Assembly Presidents’ Council called for an immediate exchange of prisoners and for steps to be taken to prevent further escalation of the conflict.

The Council of General Assembly Presidents includes former heads of the General Assembly who engage in the research and analysis of globally significant issues, the results of which are proposed for discussion to various parties.

The first negotiations between Moscow and Kyiv after the start of the war took place in Belarus in early March 2022, but they did not yield significant results.

It was decided to convene negotiators once again – on March 29, 2022, the Istanbul round of negotiations took place. It was during this time that Moscow received from Kyiv, for the first time, documented principles of a possible future agreement.

Among the specific points in that document were commitments to Ukraine’s non-aligned status, Kyiv’s refusal to host foreign weapons, including nuclear weapons, on its territory.