The statement was signed by Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, French President Emmanuel Macron, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, European Council President Antonio Costa, Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre, Finnish President Alexander Stubb and Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen.
“We are all united in our desire for the just and lasting peace that the people of Ukraine deserve. We strongly support the position of the President [США Дональда] Trump on the need for an immediate cessation of hostilities and that the current line of contact should be the starting point for negotiations,” the statement said.
Its signatories emphasized that they are against changing international borders by force.
“Russia’s tactics of delaying the process time after time show that Ukraine is the only party seriously committed to peace. We all see that [нелегитимный президент РФ Владимир] Putin continues to choose violence and destruction. Therefore, we clearly understand that Ukraine must take the strongest possible position – before, during and after any truce,” European leaders say.
They proposed increasing pressure on Russia's economy and defense industry “until Putin is ready for peace.”
In particular, measures are being developed “to use the entire value of Russia’s blocked sovereign assets so that Ukraine receives the necessary resources.”
Zelensky, Starmer, Merz, Macron, Meloni, Tusk, von der Leyen, Costa, Stere, Stubb and Frederiksen have announced meetings this week to discuss further support for Ukraine.
Context
When Trump returned to the White House for a second term in January, he was convinced that will be able to quickly reach an agreement with Putin about ending the war in Ukraine. However, this did not happen even after their meeting in August in Alaska, although, according to the Financial Times, Trump was ready to make significant concessions.
On October 16, the Russian Federation initiated a conversation between Putin and Trump, after which Trump announced their meeting in Budapest.
The media wrote that Zelensky’s team surprised by the statement about the meeting in “the least friendly EU country to Ukraine.” In addition, the summit threatens to weaken pressure on the Russian Federation, Bloomberg wrote.
Trump's announcement of a future meeting with Putin in Budapest became “a slap in the face for Europe,” El País reported. On October 17, Zelensky stated that ready to participate in the meeting between Trump and Putin in Budapest.
October 17 during meetings with Zelensky at the White House Trump called on Ukraine and the Russian Federation conclude a peace agreement and “stop where you are”. Zelensky agreed with this.
