Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine Andriy Yermak Photo: Ida Marie Odgaard / Reuters
The Ukrainian authorities have not yet recorded any signals that Russia is ready for peace talks. This was stated by the head of the Presidential Office, Andriy Yermak, in an interview with the British newspaper The Telegraph
“We do not see that the Russian aggressors are ready for real negotiations. They only want to dictate terms and speak the language of ultimatums,” Yermak stressed.
Ukraine does not accept the language of ultimatums
The head of the Presidential Office stressed that no leader of the democratic world, including the newly elected US President, would allow conditions to be dictated by the language of ultimatums.
“This is important,” he added, emphasising the principled position of Ukraine and its partners on the unacceptability of any demands from the aggressor.
War without pauses: the urgent need for support
Yermak also noted that the war is ongoing, and every minute of fighting takes lives of Ukrainians.
“We need more weapons and more equipment. Our partners know exactly what we need. We work with them every day. The level of our communication is excellent, but every day of fighting results in losses of our people,” he stressed.
Ukraine will make decisions on its own
This statement was made against the backdrop of Kyiv’s reaffirmation of its strategic position that Ukraine will make its own decisions on the negotiations. Former US Ambassador to Ukraine Steven Pifer had previously said that no external factor could force Ukraine to negotiate.
Ukraine continues to coordinate its actions with international partners and emphasises the need for increased support to achieve a just peace.
