As discussions around a ceasefire in Ukraine become more and more pressing, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is laying out the outlines of a framework for discussion. He said on Sunday (December 1) that Ukraine needed more weapons and security guarantees before agreeing to begin negotiations with Russia to end the invasion of the country. “Only when we have all these elements and we are strong will we have to establish (…) the agenda for the meeting with the assassins,” declared Volodymyr Zelensky after a meeting with European Union leaders in kyiv.
He also assured Sunday that an invitation to join NATO was “necessary for the survival” of Ukraine, almost three years after the start of the Russian invasion of the country. “The invitation to Ukraine to join NATO is necessary for our survival. We are working at all levels to strengthen the position of Ukraine and the entire Euro-Atlantic community,” said Volodymyr Zelensky after the talks.
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Symbolic visit
The head of European diplomacy, Kaja Kallas, and the President of the European Council, Antonio Costa, both recently appointed, arrived in kyiv this Sunday, December 1 for a symbolic visit in support of Ukraine, on the first day of their mandate. This trip comes at a time when tensions are at their highest between Moscow and the West after strikes by Ukraine by American and British missiles on Russian soil and the firing by Russia of an experimental hypersonic missile and nuclear threats.
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The new leadership team of the European Union is keen to show strong support for Ukraine at a time when its forces are retreating on the front and when the imminent arrival of Donald Trump at the White House raises fears of a cessation of aid American in kyiv. “We have come to send a clear message: we are alongside Ukraine and we continue to give it our full support,” Antonio Costa told the journalists accompanying him, including AFP.
Beyond the difficulties on the front, Ukraine has also been targeted in recent weeks by several waves of strikes targeting its energy infrastructure, which have caused massive power cuts as winter approaches. “The situation in Ukraine is very, very serious, but it is clear that it also has a very high cost for Russia,” assured Kaja Kallas, former Prime Minister of Estonia, known to be a supporter of a hard line against Moscow.
“Ending the hot phase of the war”
The two officials, who hold the most important positions in the EU after that of European Commission head Ursula von der Leyen, spoke with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
The latter, who for more than two years categorically refused any negotiations with Vladimir Putin, has seemed to soften his position recently. On Friday, he called on NATO to offer protection to the regions of Ukraine still controlled by kyiv in order to “end the hot phase of the war”, and suggested that he would then be ready to give up in the future. immediately to recover the territories occupied by Russia.
“If we are talking about a ceasefire, (we need) guarantees that Putin will not return,” the leader told British broadcaster Sky News. With these new statements, Volodymyr Zelensky seems to be taking another step in the direction of negotiations.
(With AFP)
