The issue of ending the war in Ukraine cannot be resolved without the participation of Ukraine and Europe, Poland’s Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski has claimed ahead of U.S. President Donald Trump’s showdown meeting with his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin.
According to Poland’s foreign minister, it is Europe that now supplies Ukraine with most of its weapons and financial aid, with the U.S. slashing aid once President Trump took office.
Putin, he told the BBC, as cited by Poland’s Do Rzeczy, is considered a war criminal in Europe, and therefore negotiations involving him in that territory cannot take place.
“We all want peace, but it must be a just peace. And to achieve a just peace, we must obtain concessions from Russia,” he said, adding that “Russia must limit its military objectives.”
“We appreciate President Trump’s efforts, but we will also make our own decisions in Europe,” said Sikorski.
The Polish minister also responded to a question about whether the U.S. could demand territorial concessions from Ukraine in exchange for peace, although the authorities in Kyiv officially reject such a possibility.
“I’m sure President Trump understands that Ukraine doesn’t need anyone’s help to capitulate to Russia. Ukraine needs help to achieve a just peace and have borders it can defend,” he said.
Sikorski stressed that he did not consider it appropriate to publicly discuss what Ukraine was ready to sacrifice in the name of peace, and that in any case, decisions on this matter should be made by Kyiv.
“As foreigners, we should not lecture the victims of aggression on how to appease the aggressor, because Ukraine will have to bear the consequences,” he said in the interview, arguing that a ceasefire alone will not solve the problem.
“I actually agree with the Russians that the causes of this war need to be addressed. In my opinion, it’s Russian imperialism, the fact that Vladimir Putin has granted himself the right to decide who can and cannot be a nation and within what borders,” he said.
Sikorski also recalled that Putin had already signed an agreement with Ukraine guaranteeing it internationally recognized borders, which was ratified by both countries in 2004.
