Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiga will discuss with colleagues from NATO member states how to force Russia into real dialogue, as well as guarantees of peace so that Russia does not attack Ukraine again.
Sybiha stated this before the start of the Ukraine-NATO Council in Brussels, reports a Babel correspondent.
"I came to NATO to talk about a just, understandable and lasting peace, and how to achieve it. We accepted the US proposal for a 30-day ceasefire. But we see that Putin is talking about demands and conditions. Russia must start taking peace seriously. We must put pressure on Russia. Russia remains an existential threat to Europe," the Ukrainian Foreign Minister noted.
Sibiga added that only pressure can stop Russia — and only then will Moscow begin a real dialogue about peace.
"I will also burn our urgent needs and security guarantees. Without such guarantees, Russia will attack again," Sybiha noted.
He also emphasized that Ukraine is a defender of peace in Europe, not a country seeking protection. According to him, Ukraine spends 26% of its budget on defense and is able to provide itself with weapons by 40%. Therefore, NATO and Europe should see in Kyiv a strong and loyal partner.
Trumpʼs peacemaking efforts
On March 11, another round of talks between Ukraine and the United States took place in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. As a result, Ukraine agreed to an immediate temporary ceasefire — in exchange, Washington decided to resume aid and intelligence sharing. Volodymyr Zelensky said that a 30-day ceasefire would apply to the entire front line if Russia agreed to it.
On March 18, Trump spoke with Putin. They discussed, in particular, the 30-day ceasefire proposed by the United States. Putin demanded that Ukraine stop the mobilization and rearmament of the Armed Forces of Ukraine for this period. After the conversation, the parties reported that Putin allegedly supported the idea of a mutual refusal of the Russian Federation and Ukraine from attacks on energy infrastructure for 30 days.
Trump spoke with Zelensky on March 19. The US president shared with the Ukrainian leader the details of his conversation with Putin. Zelensky said he was ready to support the cessation of strikes on energy and other civilian infrastructure.
The US subsequently agreed with Ukraine and Russia to ban attacks in the Black Sea. However, Russian officials have said that the agreed ceasefire at sea in the Black Sea is contingent on sanctions being eased, contradicting the US statement.
Meanwhile, Russia continues massive attacks on Ukraine and its civilian infrastructure.
- On March 30, Trump told NBC that he was “very angry” and “furious” when Putin questioned the authority of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. Trump believes that such statements “do not lead in the right direction”. And he threatened Moscow with sanctions on Russian oil if a ceasefire agreement with Kyiv is not concluded within a month due to the Kremlin’s fault.
- Already on April 1, Foxʼs Jackie Heinrich, citing a source familiar with the negotiations, reported that Trump was "disappointed" with Putinʼs actions and believed that Russia was "slowing down negotiations on a full ceasefire". According to the journalist, the US administration is considering the possibility of aggressively applying sanctions, in particular against the Russian shadow fleet.
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