Ukraine urges continued pressure on Russia after Putin aide’s remarks on peace talks
Photo: Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha (facebook.com/andrij.sybiha)
Russia will not be ready for serious negotiations as long as it believes that pressuring Ukraine will allow it to achieve goals it has failed to attain on the battlefield. Therefore, pressure on the aggressor must be maintained and increased, states Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha.
"As long as Russia believes it can achieve the goals of its invasion — goals it cannot achieve on the battlefield — by having anyone pressure Ukraine into capitulation, it will not enter serious negotiations," Sybiha said.
That is why, he said, maintaining and increasing pressure on Russia remains critically important to ending the war.
"Peace through strength is the only strategy that works. But that strength must be applied to the aggressor, not to the country defending itself," the minister stressed.
"This war cannot be ended by stopping Ukraine's resistance. It can only be ended by stopping the aggressor's attacks," he added.
Sybiha was responding to remarks by Russian leader Vladimir Putin’s aide Yuri Ushakov. Ushakov complained that the US had so far been unable to put pressure on Ukraine and force it to agree to peace.
According to Ushakov, after the summit in Alaska, it had seemed that Washington could impose its terms on Kyiv, but that had not happened. Therefore, in his view, talks should also be held with all of Europe.
Ushakov said Russia was ready to resume trilateral talks with Ukraine and the US after November 4, but had no high expectations for them: the meeting would be only preliminary. According to media reports, the next round could take place in the first half of November in Abu Dhabi or Switzerland. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy had previously also named Abu Dhabi as a possible venue.
Washington has also been discussing preparations for the talks. US House Speaker Mike Johnson said the Trump administration was on the cusp of a trilateral meeting.
Meanwhile, according to Zelenskyy, pressure on Ukraine is only increasing. He described restrictions on Starlink and delays in the delivery of Patriot missiles as an attempt to force Ukraine into capitulation.
