Sawt Falasteen - Zelensky wants peace 'this year' on third anniversary of Russian invasion

Russia said it would only halt the invasion if a deal can be reached that "suits" its interests and accused Europe of wanting to prolong the fighting.

Russian President Vladimir Putin's decision to launch what he called a "special military operation" in February 2022 set off the biggest conflict in Europe since World War II.

Tens of thousands of soldiers from both sides and Ukrainian civilians have been killed. Cities across the country's south and east have been flattened and millions forced to flee their homes.

"This year should be the year of the beginning of a real, lasting peace," Zelensky told Kyiv's backers in Kyiv.

"Putin will not give us peace or give it to us in exchange for something. We have to win peace through strength and wisdom and unity," he added.

EU Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen also warned that despite opening talks with the United States on how to end the conflict, Putin was not about to back down.

"Putin is trying harder than ever to win this war on the ground. His goal remains Ukraine's capitulation," she said.

She also called the war in Ukraine "the most central and consequential crisis for Europe's future."

Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who has offered to help broker a deal, told the summit he strongly supported "Ukraine's territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence" and said both sides must be represented "fairly" in talks.

- Deal that 'suits' Russia -

But as leaders of Ukraine's backers lined up to proclaim support and hail Kyiv's resistance, there was one notable absence: the United States.

Donald Trump's return to the White House has threatened to upend the Western coalition, and has brought vital military and financial aid into question at a critical juncture.

His opening of talks with Putin, the false claim that Ukraine "started" the war and verbal attacks on Zelensky have triggered alarm across Europe.

Kyiv said Monday it was in the "final stages" of a deal with Washington to give the United States preferential access to rare minerals -- one of the sources of disagreement that has exploded over the last week.

Russian officials have been buoyed by Trump's outreach, sensing an opportunity to push their core demands: the roll-back of NATO's military presence in Europe, territorial concessions from Ukraine and the end of Western military support to Kyiv.

"We will stop hostilities only when these negotiations produce a firm and sustainable result that suits the Russian Federation," Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on a visit to Turkey.

Putin's spokesman meanwhile accused Europe of prolonging the fighting.

"The Europeans continue on the path of a sanctions nosedive, on the path of conviction in the need to continue the war," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters, responding to a fresh package of sanctions levelled by Brussels on Monday.

On the streets of Moscow, there was support for a hardline approach.

Europe and Ukraine "needed to be pushed around to show that they aren't the most important in the world," pensioner Irina Svetlichnaya, 77, told AFP.

- 'You cannot be weak' -

Chinese President Xi Jinping on Monday backed ally Russia's "positive efforts to defuse" the Ukraine crisis, in a call with Putin, Chinese state media reported.

Beijing is a crucial political backer of Russia and has never condemned its invasion. Zelensky has repeatedly called for Xi to help convince Putin to halt the war.

The Ukrainian leader also on Monday refreshed his call for security guarantees from Kyiv's backers to ensure Russia does not use any ceasefire to rearm and attack again at a later date.

With Trump sceptical of continuing to support Ukraine, Europe has been left debating whether it can fill the void.

French President Emmanuel Macron was due in Washington later Monday for a meeting with Trump where he said he will tell the Republican: "You cannot be weak in the face of President Putin."

"This idiot doesn't understand what he's talking about at all. He's in some kind of bubble and falls for Russian rhetoric," 41-year-old soldier Mikhailo told AFP.

"I don't want to give up Ukrainian land ... we've been fighting for so long," said Mykola, a 38 year-old commander stationed in the eastern Donetsk region.

"But everyone is tired of the war."

I.Yassin--SF-PST