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During a press conference in Brussels on Thursday, 13 February, US Secretary of Defence Pete Hagel said that the United States considers it possible to introduce demarcation as part of a future peace agreement between Ukraine and Russia. According to him, this step could be an important element of the negotiations, but would not satisfy either side.
Hegseth explained that a realistic assessment of the situation should be the basis for achieving peace, and that the recognition of the impossibility of returning to the 2014 borders is not a concession to Russia, but rather a recognition of the new realities that have emerged after numerous casualties on both sides of the conflict.
“It’s a recognition of the realities that have been created by the enormous sacrifices made first by Ukrainians and then by the allies, and it’s also a recognition that a negotiated peace would be a kind of demarcation that neither side wants,” Ghegseth said.
The US Secretary of Defence also categorically rejected the idea that peace talks with Russia could be seen as a concession to Vladimir Putin. He noted that the negotiations should be based on a position of strength, not on concessions to the aggressor, stressing that there was no aggression from Russia under President Donald Trump, and that the new invasion was the result of Putin’s actions in 2022.
“Peace must be achieved through negotiations from a position of strength, not on the basis of concessions,” Hegseth concluded.
