Any credible and sustainable peace plan should first and foremost stop the killing and end the war, not sow the seeds of future conflictthe President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen declared on Sunday in a video published on social networks. According to her, Ukraine’s borders cannot be changed by force, and the return of kidnapped Ukrainian children is important to her, reports TASR.
- The President of the EC stressed the importance of an immediate end to the war in Ukraine.
- Von der Leyen insists on the immutability of Ukraine’s borders by force.
- The EU supports Ukraine’s sovereignty and its integration into European structures.
- The US presented a 28-point peace plan for the conflict in Ukraine.
- The summit on the return of Ukrainian children is organized by the EU, Ukraine and Canada.
“We agreed on the main elements necessary for a just and lasting peace and sovereignty of Ukraine,” von der Leyen said. She made three of these points: borders cannot be changed by force; as in the case of a sovereign nation there can be no restrictions on Ukraine’s armed forces that would leave the country vulnerable to a future attackwhich would also weaken European security; the centrality of the European Union in securing peace for Ukraine must be fully reflected.
According to the President of the EC, Ukraine must have the freedom and sovereign right to decide on its own future. “They have chosen a European future. It starts with rebuilding the country, integrating it into our single market and our defense industrial base, and finally joining our Union.” she said.
Leyenová further stated that the EU will continue cooperation with Ukraine, member states, so-called by a coalition of the willing and the United States to make real progress on the road to peace, she said. The important thing is that they move forward as partners.
For her personally, a key element that must be part of any agreement is the return of all Ukrainian children abducted by Russia. She described these abductions as the greatest horror unleashed by Russia’s war. “Tens of thousands of boys and girls remain trapped in Russia. Scared and longing for their loved ones. We must put these children at the top of the world’s agenda.” said the president of the EC.
She added that, therefore, together with Ukraine and Canada, they will organize a summit of the International Coalition for the Return of Ukrainian Children and will continue to work until every single one of the children returns to their families.
The US has presented Ukraine with a 28-point peace plan, which, among other things, requires Ukraine to cede all of Donbas to Russia and commit to keeping its military to a maximum of 600,000 and never joining NATO, while Russia will be re-admitted to the G8 and sanctions imposed on Moscow for its invasion of Ukraine will be eased. Representatives of Ukraine, Britain, France and Germany are discussing this peace plan with US representatives on Sunday in Geneva.
