The idea of making any kind of concession to Russia is unacceptable for Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskiy stated on Thursday in Budapest, stressing that he considers this to be suicide for the whole of Europe. This was said in the speech of the Ukrainian president at the summit of the European Political Community (EPC) in Budapest, the Ukrainian news portal Yevropeyszka Pravda reported.
Zelensky emphasized that since the previous meeting in this format, Russia's war has significantly intensified, as North Korea has joined the war, and that is on the territory of Europe. The president recalled that after the EPC summit held in Great Britain in July, there was a lot of talk about the need to give in to Russian President Vladimir Putin.
"Some of those present here strongly advocated that Ukraine make concessions to Putin. This is unacceptable for Ukraine, and suicide for all of Europe," he stated.
“Should Europe curry favor with [North Korean leader] Kim Jong-un in the hope that he will leave Europe alone? No strong leader who helped build a united, strong and peaceful Europe could have imagined this," Zelensky emphasized. According to him, the "peace through strength" concept has proven its reality and effectiveness more than once before.
"Now it is needed again, and we should not have any illusions that a just peace can be bought by showing weakness, by giving up the position of some Europeans or any European country"
he warned.
Zelenskyy called on the partner countries to give more weapons to Ukraine and not to push for negotiations with the aggressor Russia.
"We are not defending against Russian words, but against Russian attacks, so we need a sufficient amount of weapons, not support for starting negotiations," he stated.
In his words, "hugging" Putin won't help. " Some people have been embracing it for twenty years and it's only getting worse. Because he only thinks about wars and he won't change ," he added.
" Let me emphasize: this war is taking place on the land of Ukraine. We are grateful to Ukraine's partners for all their support, and we are open to any constructive ideas to achieve a just peace for our country. However, Ukraine must decide what should and should not be on the agenda in order to end the war ," Zelensky emphasized.
He mentioned that he spoke on the phone with Donald Trump, the winner of the US presidential election, the day before.
" It was a good, productive conversation. Of course, we cannot yet know what concrete steps he will take, but we hope that America will become stronger , ”he said. Zelensky emphasized that Europe needs exactly this kind of America.
" And America needs a strong Europe. It is a bond between allies that should be cherished and not lost, " he added.
The Ukrainian president called on the participants of the summit to unite in the defense of the common interests of the European peoples, so that, as he said, " we can not only stop Russia's war against Ukraine, but also respond to other challenges ".
MTI
Front page image: Prime Minister Viktor Orbán receives Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at the European Political Community (EPC) meeting in Budapest at the Puskás Arena on November 7, 2024 (Photo: MTI/Szilárd Koszticsák)
