Lithuanian foreign minister: "Any concessions to Russia on Ukraine borders would also jeopardise us"
Lithuanian Foreign Minister Kęstutis Budrys has stated that if Russia is enabled even minimally to redraw Ukraine's borders during peace talks, Moscow will sooner or later attempt to do the same with Lithuanian territory.
Source: Delfi, a Baltic states news website, citing Budrys, as reported by European Pravda
Details: Budrys emphasised the need to prevent the legitimisation of the Russian-occupied territories of Ukraine.
"If we enable borders to be redrawn in any form, even the smallest, they will come to us with a marker and a map, and later with tanks, to redraw borders. We cannot allow any de jure or de facto legitimisation of occupied territories. These principles are fundamental," he stressed.
Budrys believes that it is crucial to use the available levers in talks for a just peace in Ukraine.
"The rules of the modern world are very complicated to understand – they are rather crude and straightforward. Either you have levers and tools that you can put on the table, threaten with, offer or withhold, or you don't. But then don't complain if you're not at that table," the foreign minister said.
Budrys added that Europe has three absolutely clear levers in peace talks for Ukraine that it must use: frozen Russian assets, the issue of granting Ukraine EU membership and the establishment of a Special Tribunal.
Background:
- On 25 November, US President Donald Trump stated that he has tasked Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and US Army Secretary Dan Driscoll with finalising the terms of a proposed "peace agreement" between Russia and Ukraine. Witkoff is expected to travel to Moscow, and if talks reach the final stage, Trump plans to meet Russian leader Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
- Trump believes Russia's biggest concession would be agreeing to stop fighting and not seize additional territory.
- According to CNN, Ukraine and the US still disagree on three points of the proposed "peace agreement", including a demand that would see Ukraine withdraw without a fight from the part of Donetsk Oblast that is not currently occupied.
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