EU: No peace without Ukraine – “the country should determine its own future”
Stockholm – Ukraine should determine its own future, write 26 of the EU member states’ heads of government in a joint press release, ahead of the upcoming meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday.
“A fair and lasting peace that creates stability and security must respect international law, including the principles of independence, sovereignty, territorial integrity, and that international borders must not be changed by force,” it states.
The leaders welcome Donald Trump’s efforts to end Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine, but write that lasting peace cannot be achieved without Ukraine.
Hungary is the only EU member state that does not sign.
Germany’s Chancellor Friedrich Merz has called for a meeting on the situation in Ukraine with Trump, Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, as well as a number of European leaders including EU Commission President Ursula Von der Leyen and EU Council President António Costa, on Wednesday.
“No negotiations about Ukraine without Ukraine, no negotiations about Europe without Europe,” states Sweden’s Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson.
EU foreign ministers met digitally on Monday. At the meeting, there was “great consensus” that nothing can be decided without Ukraine’s participation, according to Sweden’s Foreign Minister Maria Malmer Stenergard.
(August 12)
