Foreign Minister Sybiha Affirms Ukraine Wants True Peace
JAKARTA - Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha insists Ukraine wants "true peace, not compromise" with Russia, while speaking at the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) on Thursday.
"We still remember the names of those who betrayed future generations in Munich. This should not be repeated. The principles must be untouched, and we need true peace, not compromise," Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said in a speech at the OSCE annual Council of Ministers.
Foreign Minister Sybiha appears to be referring to the 1938 agreement with Nazi Germany in which Britain, France and Italy approved Hitler's annexation of Sudetenland in the then Czech region.
The agreement is widely used as a shortcut for failure to face threatening forces. Russia is scheduled to speak later.
"Europe has had too many unfair peace deals in the past. Everything is only leading to new disasters," Foreign Minister Sybiha said, thanking the US for the progress of peace efforts and pledging that Ukraine would "use every opportunity to try to end this war."
Earlier, United States President Donald Trump on Wednesday said the road to peace negotiations was still unclear, after what he called "good enough" negotiations between Russian President Vladimir Putin and US envoys.
Separately, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on the same day his team was preparing for a meeting in the United States and dialogue with President Trump's representatives would continue.
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The OSCE, a 57-member body that includes the United States, Canada, Russia, and most of Europe and Central Asia, emerged as an important forum for east-west dialogue during the Cold War.
In recent years, OSCE has often come to a stalemate as Russia has blocked important deals, accusing the organization of being taken over by the West.
Now, the United States is blocking consensus on new budgets, demanding reforms such as cost cuts, diplomats say.