What Kyiv's stated terms for peace talks were by 11 May 2022
A look back at the diplomatic picture around 11 May 2022, shaped by a Canadian visit to Kyiv and Ukraine's conditions for negotiations.
What did Ukraine say it would take to keep talking with Russia as of 11 May 2022? The answer had been set out days earlier, amid the continuing Russian invasion.
On 6 May 2022, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Ukraine was open to continuing peace talks with Russia, but only if certain guarantees were given. These were the restoration of preinvasion borders, the return of Ukrainians who had been forcibly evacuated to Russia, and the withdrawal of Russian troops from the country.
Two days later, on 8 May 2022, foreign backing took a visible form. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland and Foreign Minister Mélanie Joly made an unannounced visit to Kyiv, where they met Zelenskyy.
Taken together, the two events framed the diplomatic position in the days before 11 May 2022: Kyiv set out explicit conditions for negotiations, while senior Canadian officials travelled to the capital to meet its president during the invasion.
