Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said Ukraine and its European partners should begin by testing a limited truce covering airports or seaports with Russia, arguing that Europe has the leverage to help bring peace closer through concrete, achievable steps.
“Ukraine has cards. Europe has cards. We have a strong hand. It is time to play it,” Sybiha wrote on X after addressing EU foreign ministers at an informal Gymnich dinner in Limassol, Cyprus.
JOIN US ON TELEGRAM
Follow our coverage of the war on the @Kyivpost_official.
The minister said the shifting dynamics of the war, together with Ukraine’s asymmetric strategy, had created a moment for Europe to “step in with real strength” as a complementary effort to the main US-led diplomatic track.
He proposed starting with “precise, doable steps,” including an airport or seaport arrangement, the return of civilian detainees, the demilitarization of the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, or a humanitarian corridor to occupied Oleshky in the Kherson region.
According to the foreign minister, civilians in Oleshky have been suffering for weeks without food, water and medicine.
Rather than beginning with debates over who should lead the process, Sybiha said Europe should first agree on a clear mandate that reflects “one united European voice.”
The foreign minister said Europe has tools that could produce tangible results, pointing to sanctions and frozen Russian assets as key sources of leverage.
Other Topics of Interest
