According to Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiga, agreement on a complete, unconditional, and lasting ceasefire is the most important indicator of the Russian side’s readiness to end the war. He emphasized that this condition reflects Russia’s true intention to stop its aggression and return to a peaceful resolution of the conflict.
This is reported by Kyiv24
Diplomatic Approaches and Russia’s Real Goals
Sybiga stated that the results of this week’s “intensive diplomacy” can be analyzed from three perspectives: Ukrainian, Russian, and global.
“From the Russian perspective, Putin used the Istanbul meeting for internal propaganda purposes and to simulate a peace process, buying time and delaying the imposition of new sanctions. He tries to appear constructive while actually refusing to end the war. From a global perspective, there is only one real indicator of Russia’s readiness to end the war: Putin’s agreement to an unconditional, complete, and lasting ceasefire.”
The minister added that the world cannot allow Russia to use the Istanbul meeting as an excuse to continue its aggression. He called for more decisive actions and measures beyond the 17th EU sanctions package, including the introduction of a price cap on oil, an embargo on Russian energy resources, combating the shadow fleet, and sectoral sanctions against the banking sector and the central bank.
Support for Ukraine and International Coordination
The minister assured that economic pressure must be combined with measures to strengthen Ukraine’s defense, including additional deterrence packages, air defense systems, and investments in the defense industry. “We continue to urge Russia to agree to a complete and lasting ceasefire, to stop the killings, and to initiate a meaningful peace process. Every day of refusal must lead to increased pressure,” Sybiga stated.
Earlier, there were phone negotiations among the leaders of Ukraine, France, Germany, the United Kingdom, and Poland with U.S. President Donald Trump. Additionally, at the end of last week, the first direct negotiations between Ukraine and Russia in three years took place in Istanbul, during which issues of prisoner exchanges and ceasefire were discussed.