(MENAFN- Kuwait News Agency (KUNA)) BRUSSELS, Nov 23 (KUNA) -- European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen stressed the need for the "pivotal role of the European Union" in securing peace in Ukraine to be fully reflected in any future agreement.
Europe's presence is an essential pillar in any path toward a just and lasting peace, she said in a statement on Sunday shortly after new round of multilateral talks on Ukraine crisis opened in Geneva.
Von der Leyen said that Europe "stands at the threshold of a decisive moment" requiring unified positions to ensure an end to the war and to prevent a return to cycles of conflict.
She added that any credible peace plan "should first and foremost stop the killing and end the war, while not sowing the seeds for a future conflict."
She noted that EU member states "have agreed on the main elements" that must underpin any peace agreement, highlighting three key principles which she described as the backbone of a just and lasting peace.
Von der Leyen explained that the first principle states that "borders cannot be changed by force."
The second principle, she said, is that "as a sovereign nation there cannot be limitations on Ukraine's armed forces that would leave the country vulnerable to future attack and thereby also undermining European security."
As for the third principle, she stressed the "centrality of the European Union in securing peace for Ukraine must be fully reflected."
The Commission President affirmed that Ukraine has "the freedom and sovereign right to choose its own destiny," noting that Kyiv "has chosen a European destiny," which begins with reconstruction, integration into the EU Single Market and the European defence industrial base, and ultimately "joining our Union."
She stated that Brussels will continue to work "with Ukraine, our Member States, the Coalition of the Willing and the US" to achieve tangible progress toward peace, underlining the importance of "moving forward as partners, on a single track."
On the humanitarian front, von der Leyen underscored the need to return every Ukrainian child who has been forcibly taken to Russia, saying: "Of all the horrors unleashed by Russia's war, none cuts deeper than this. Tens of thousands of boys and girls remain trapped in Russia. Frightened and longing for their loved ones. We must place these children at the top of the global agenda."
She announced that the EU, together with Ukraine and Canada, will co-host a summit of the International Coalition for the Return of Ukrainian Children, emphasizing: "We will not rest until every single one of them is reunited with their families, in their homes, where they belong."
It is noteworthy that the EU will participate in talks held in Geneva on Sunday with officials from Ukraine and the United States, with the Union represented by von der Leyen's deputy, Bjoern Seibert. (end)
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