Pressure on Russia, not Ukraine, is needed to achieve peace - Sybiha
Ukraine is open to negotiations for a just peace, but the key to a truce is to put pressure on Russia.
This was stated by Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha, Censor.NET reports citing Ukrinform.
Sybiha noted that the statements of Russian war criminals about the need to put pressure on Ukraine should be considered primarily "as disinformation, propaganda and concealment of the true reality."
"This (Peskov's statement about the need to put pressure on Ukraine to hold a new round of negotiations with Russia - ed.) is a total lie, manipulation and distortion of facts. Ukraine has never been, is not and will not be an obstacle to peace. We welcome all the peaceful efforts of President Trump, the American side, and our European allies to use all diplomatic tools to stop Russian aggression and achieve a just and sustainable peace for Ukraine," the Ukrainian Foreign Minister emphasized.
Sybiha added that the Ukrainian side demonstrated this in Jeddah, when it unconditionally accepted the American proposal for a truce, and in Istanbul, when the Russian side sent a low-level delegation, "humiliating America, humiliating its partners and demonstrating that they will not and are not ready to talk about the substance of a truce or sustainable peace." Instead, Ukraine is really ready "to talk, to consult, to negotiate" to achieve a just peace, the minister emphasized.
"Probably the most effective would be a meeting at the level of Zelenskyy and Putin. It would be good if other leaders took part in this meeting, especially President Trump, our European colleagues, and President Erdogan," the Foreign Minister emphasized.
According to him, such a meeting could help to achieve a long-term truce on land, sea and air, which would open the way for further broader negotiations with the Russian side.
"We are ready for such negotiations in any format, in any geography to achieve a just peace. Therefore, at this stage, a truce is a fundamental step. And in order to have a truce, we need to put pressure on Russia, we need sanctions packages. This will allow us to get the result we all want - a just peace," emphasized Sybiha.
