Sybiha at NATO will talk about pressure on Russia to force it to start real dialogue, about security guarantees
During the meeting of the Ukraine-NATO Council, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiha will speak about putting pressure on Russia to start a real dialogue and about security guarantees for Ukraine.
He announced this on Thursday during a joint press conference with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte before the start of the meeting, which is taking place in Brussels as part of the meeting of foreign ministers of NATO member countries.
"Today I will discuss with allies how to put pressure on Russia to engage in real dialogue. I will also discuss our urgent defense needs and security guarantees for Ukraine, as well as a credible deterrence package. For us, strong and long-term guarantees are directly linked to the ongoing peace process and efforts, because without them, Russia will attack again," Sybiha said.
The Ukrainian Foreign Minister noted that he "came to NATO headquarters to talk about peace, long-term, comprehensive peace, how to achieve it and how to maintain it." "Ukraine has demonstrated its readiness to achieve peace. We accepted the US proposal for a complete temporary 30-day ceasefire without any conditions. This proposal is still on the table. But we see that instead of accepting it, Putin is talking about demands and conditions," he stated.
In this regard, Sybiha expressed the conviction that Russia "must take peace seriously, and for this, the time has come to increase pressure on Moscow." "Now is the time for diplomacy, but also for pressure and containment. Although the media's attention is focused on global trade wars, we must not forget that a real full-scale war is ongoing in Europe," the minister emphasized, adding that Russia remains "an existential threat to Europe."
According to the Ukrainian minister, today at the Ukraine-NATO Council meeting he intends to focus "on the self-sufficiency of Ukraine and Europe." "Ukraine currently spends 26% of its budget on defense. Our defense industry produces millions of drones a year. We are already almost 40% self-sufficient. And we can increase all these figures," Sybiha said.
He stressed that 800,000 Ukrainian soldiers "are defenders of Ukraine and defenders of Europe." "They must be well armed. The world must be well armed. Our defense industry will become the backbone of European defense. Our army is the largest land army in Europe, and our defense technologies are among the most advanced," the minister assured.
In turn, Rutte noted that, having visited Bucha after its liberation, he was convinced that dealing with the Russians "will be very difficult." "Of course, I highly appreciate America's efforts to get the situation out of the impasse. This is important. We must make sure that when a ceasefire or peace agreement is reached, it will be sustainable, long-term ... The world is watching. This is not a regional war, this is a global conflict, because Russia is cooperating with North Korea, China, Iran, and in the end there is an audience that will evaluate the outcome of this war," he is convinced.
Rutte also recalled that in the first three months of this year, NATO allies committed to providing Ukraine with EUR 20 billion, and last year the total amount was EUR 50 billion.
