They also firmly rejected any proposal that would require Kyiv to surrender territory seized by Russian forces in exchange for peace — an idea US President Donald Trump has suggested on occasion
Russian President Vladimir Putin. File pic
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and top European leaders on Tuesday accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of deliberately stalling diplomatic efforts aimed at ending the ongoing invasion of Ukraine, news agency AP reported. They also firmly rejected any proposal that would require Kyiv to surrender territory seized by Russian forces in exchange for peace — an idea US President Donald Trump has suggested on occasion.
Eight European heads of state, along with senior European Union officials, issued a joint statement declaring their intention to move ahead with plans to utilise Moscow’s billions of dollars (euros) in frozen assets abroad to aid Kyiv in its war efforts, despite concerns about the legality and potential consequences of such action.
While the statement expressed support for Trump’s peace initiatives in Ukraine — as the US President prepares for an upcoming meeting with Putin in Budapest, Hungary — it also reiterated a fundamental principle: the leaders “remain committed to the principle that international borders must not be changed by force”, AP reported.
Trump had recently reversed his earlier stance that Ukraine would have to concede territory, suggesting instead that the country could eventually reclaim all land lost to Russia. However, following a phone call with Putin last week and a meeting with Zelenskyy on Friday, he once again shifted his position, urging both Kyiv and Moscow to “stop where they are” in the over three-year-old war.
Speaking on Monday, Trump said that although he believes Ukraine may ultimately defeat Russia, he now doubts the likelihood of that outcome.
Ukrainian and European leaders are working hard to keep Trump aligned with their position.
“We strongly support President Trump’s position that the fighting should stop immediately, and that the current line of contact should be the starting point of negotiations,” the joint statement read. “We can all see that Putin continues to choose violence and destruction.”
Trump’s involvement in Europe’s biggest conflict since World War 2 has seen many twists and turns as he searches for a viable peace deal.
Russia currently occupies around one-fifth of Ukrainian territory. However, Kyiv has made it clear that any division of its land in exchange for peace is unacceptable.
Furthermore, both Ukrainian and European officials fear that freezing the conflict along current frontlines could allow Russia to retain occupied areas as a launchpad for future attacks, AP reported.
The statement from the leaders of Ukraine, the UK, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Norway, Poland, Denmark, along with EU officials, came at the start of what President Zelenskyy described on Monday as a “very active” week of diplomacy.
Additional international sanctions against Russia are expected to be discussed at the EU summit in Brussels on Thursday.
“We must ramp up the pressure on Russia's economy and its defence industry, until Putin is ready to make peace,” the statement said.
On Friday, London will host a meeting of the Coalition of the Willing — a group of 35 countries supporting Ukraine.
(With AP inputs)
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