Poland's Foreign Minister: Cannot Guarantee No Forced Landing of Putin's Plane European 9 Countries Leaders: Current Contact Line Should Be the Starting Point for Negotiations

Leaders of nine European countries including the UK, France, Germany, Italy, Ukraine, and EU Commission President von der Leyen and European Council President Costa issued a joint statement on Tuesday regarding the Ukraine issue, stating, "We firmly support President Trump's position that hostilities should cease immediately, and the current contact line should be the starting point for negotiations. We have always adhered to the principle that international borders should not be changed through force." The joint statement emphasized, "We must increase pressure on Russia's economy and defense industry until Putin is ready to achieve peace."

The joint statement was issued in the name of Ukrainian President Zelenskyy, UK Prime Minister Starmer, German Chancellor Merkel, French President Macron, Italian Prime Minister Meloni, Polish Prime Minister Tusk, Norwegian Prime Minister Stoltenberg, Finnish President Sauli Niinistö, Danish Prime Minister Frederiksen, and the two EU leaders mentioned above.

The joint statement read, "We are united by a common desire to achieve a just and lasting peace that the Ukrainian people deserve. We firmly support President Trump's position that hostilities should cease immediately, and the current contact line should be the starting point for negotiations. We have always upheld the principle that international borders should not be changed through force."

The joint statement added, "Russia's delaying tactics have repeatedly shown that Ukraine is the only party genuinely seeking peace. We all clearly see that Putin continues to choose violence and destruction. Therefore, we are clear: before, during, and after any ceasefire agreement, Ukraine must be in the strongest possible position. We must increase pressure on Russia's economy and defense industry until Putin is ready to achieve peace. We are developing measures to fully utilize the value of Russia's frozen sovereign assets to ensure Ukraine receives the resources it needs."

The joint statement pointed out, "Leaders of multiple countries will hold meetings later this week within the framework of the European Council and the 'Voluntary Alliance' to discuss how to advance related work and further support Ukraine."

Recently, US President Trump and Russian President Putin planned to meet in Budapest, the capital of Hungary. As a NATO and EU member, Hungary has maintained a pro-Russian stance throughout the Ukraine-Russia war.

Russia previously demanded that Ukraine cede more territory before a ceasefire, while Ukraine and its European allies have long called for an immediate cessation of hostilities to begin negotiations. Last Friday, Trump met with Zelenskyy at the White House and urged both sides to "cease fighting on the spot and declare victory."

Trump later denied having told Zelenskyy to hand over the entire Donbas region to Russia to end the war - but according to Zelenskyy, the meeting at the White House last Friday did indeed discuss Russia's intention to annex territory, rather than ending the war on the existing border. When asked if he had pressured Ukraine to accept Putin's ceasefire conditions, Trump told reporters on Sunday, "We never discussed this."

EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Kaja Kallas emphasized on Monday that Ukraine should not give up territory in a peace agreement with Russia. Kallas said to journalists after the EU foreign ministers' meeting in Luxembourg, "If we easily cede territory, we would send a signal to everyone that it is possible to succeed by attacking a neighbor. I think this is extremely dangerous. International law exists precisely to prevent such actions."

It is reported that Zelenskyy will attend the "Voluntary Alliance" meeting in London on Friday. The alliance was established by the UK and France in February this year, and has been working through multi-level consultations for months to develop military aid plans for Ukraine and prevent Russia from launching another attack after the final ceasefire.

Notably, Poland's Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sikorski warned Putin on Tuesday that if he flew over Polish airspace to attend the summit with Trump in Hungary, Poland might be forced to execute an international arrest warrant.

In March 2023, the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for Russian President Putin, accusing him of war crimes in the war against Ukraine. The warrant accused Putin of being responsible for the forced migration and illegal transfer of Ukrainian children, stating these actions violated international humanitarian law.

Sikorski said in a radio interview, "I cannot guarantee that Poland's independent court will not order the government to escort such an aircraft for landing, handing over the suspect to the Hague court."

Sikorski added, "I believe the Russians know this well. Therefore, if the summit proceeds as scheduled - and we hope representatives of the victim countries will participate - the Russian delegation's plane will take an alternative route."

To avoid flying over Ukrainian airspace, the Russian delegation will have to cross the airspace of at least one EU member state. Although Hungary is in the process of exiting the International Criminal Court, all EU countries are members of the court.

Source: rfi

Original: www.toutiao.com/article/1846583265070218/

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