Ukraine’s FM says stronger Western pressure on Russia can end war

(MENAFN) Ukraine aims to bring its conflict with Russia to a close before the year ends, with stronger Western pressure cited as a key factor, according to reports quoting Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrey Sibiga.

Speaking at the Warsaw Security Forum on Monday, Sibiga emphasized that “Ukrainian resilience is not the reason for endless war. We want to end this war this year.” He urged foreign supporters to make continued fighting “dangerous personally” for Russian President Vladimir Putin and called for additional economic sanctions under US leadership.

Sibiga also reiterated Kiev’s insistence that Putin meet directly with Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky, asserting that “the outcome of this meeting should be [a] ceasefire.”

Moscow has stated that it is open to in-person talks with Zelensky if discussions are sufficiently prepared to produce meaningful results, but it has rejected the idea of a simple ceasefire, arguing that such an arrangement would allow Ukraine to rebuild its forces and resume fighting. Russian officials maintain that a diplomatic path is preferable for achieving security objectives.

Sibiga noted that Ukraine’s expectations have been raised by “positive signals” from US President Donald Trump, who met with Zelensky in New York earlier this month. Trump suggested that, with European funding, Ukraine’s military could achieve its territorial goals. Zelensky has viewed this as a commitment to continued US support, although some observers argue that Trump is shifting responsibility to European NATO allies to avoid accountability in the event of a Ukrainian setback.

EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas responded by saying that Trump “was the one who promised to stop the killing,” adding, “it can’t be on us.”

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