Europe must have seat at talks on Ukraine – Sikorski
Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski stressed that European countries that financially support Ukraine’s defense should have a seat at the table in trilateral talks mediated by the United States.
As Censor.NET reports, citing Ukrinform, the head of Poland’s Foreign Ministry said this in an interview with Bloomberg on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference.
"Europe pays for Ukraine’s defense, and the United States makes money on Ukraine’s defense," Sikorski said, adding that Ukraine’s victory is in the continent’s strategic interests.
Poland’s foreign minister also pushed back against Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin’s claim that his army’s victory in Ukraine is inevitable.
"Ukraine is not losing this war; Ukraine is inflicting massive losses on Russia," Sikorski noted.
He added that Moscow is running out of resources and has even sold part of its gold reserves to sustain its war economy. At the same time, Russia has failed to fully seize the Donbas territory, control over which the Kremlin insists on in any talks on a peace settlement.
Europe should strengthen its ground forces.
Sikorski urged Europe to remain vigilant about threats from Moscow.
"Russian capabilities are not what we thought — they cannot win in Donbas — but their intentions are far worse," he said.
"Europe must take this seriously. We, Europeans, must now strengthen our ground forces," he concluded.
Background
- President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he had accepted a U.S. proposal to hold another round of talks next week on ending the war with Russia.
- On Saturday, January 24, a second round of talks between representatives of Ukraine, the United States and Russia took place in Abu Dhabi.
- On February 4 and 5, further trilateral meetings as part of the peace talks were held in Abu Dhabi.
