Zelensky announced the intention of US representatives to meet with the Russian side and called the Budapest Memorandum a “piece of paper”
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated that the American side informed Kyiv of its intention to hold separate negotiations with representatives of the Russian Federation after a meeting with the Ukrainian delegation, which took place on December 19. The head of state also emphasized that any agreements are valuable only when they are not formal, but actually work and are able to stop the war.
Zelensky reported this during a joint press conference with Portuguese Prime Minister Luis Montenegro, which took place in Kyiv on December 20.
“The US announced that it was planning a separate meeting with Russian representatives and proposed a Ukraine-America-Russia format, possibly with the participation of European partners. It is logical to hold such a meeting after assessing the results of the negotiations between Ukraine and the US. Our team should provide me with the results of the first part of the dialogue, after which it will be clear how to proceed, ”, — the president said, commenting on the course of negotiations between the Ukrainian and American sides.
He also emphasized that Ukraine has already paid an extremely high price for its desire for peace and will insist on such an agreement that will ensure “a just peace with strong security guarantees to make repeated aggression impossible”.
“There is no agreement today. It exists when it is not only on paper, but when it is signed by the leaders, when the war is stopped. And this means that there are agreements. Because the Budapest Memorandum, I do not believe that this agreement was. I believe it was a piece of paper, Zelensky said.
The president specified that the potential agreement should consist of several documents and include clear security guarantees from the United States, approved by the US Congress. In addition, specific response mechanisms should be prescribed in the event of new aggression, including sanctions pressure on the enemy, support for the Ukrainian army, necessary supplies and a defense deterrence package. “Only such an agreement can guarantee real protection and peace for Ukraine”, – the president emphasized.
For his part, Portuguese Prime Minister Luis Montenegro announced that his country is ready to join the peacekeeping operation being developed by the so-called Coalition of the Willing, but only after a complete cessation of hostilities.
“NATO, together with the Portuguese military, can deploy its forces on the territory of Ukraine. For example, together with Latvia and Lithuania, participate in peacekeeping missions and ensure security. Today this is not yet foreseen, Montenegro said.
At the same time, Volodymyr Zelenskyy noted that it is currently “too early to talk” about the practical implementation of the activities of the Coalition of the Willing, since the primary task remains to achieve a ceasefire.
