Move comes after negotiations were sought by the US on ending the war
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky (left) with Finland’s President Alexander Stubb on the sidelines of the 61st Munich Security Conference in Munich. Pic/AFP
Finland’s president on Sunday urged the rearming of Ukraine and putting “maximum pressure on Russia” through sanctions and asset freezes in the run-up to possible negotiations sought by the US on ending the war. Alexander Stubb and other European leaders at the final day of the Munich Security Conference on Sunday sought to firm up how the European Union can move from talk to more action and stay relevant as Washington pushes to stop the fighting. He laid out three phases: “pre-negotiation”, ceasefire and long-term peace negotiation.
“The first phase is the pre-negotiation, and this is a moment when we need to rearm Ukraine and put maximum pressure on Russia, which means sanctions, which means frozen assets, so that Ukraine begins these negotiations from a position of strength,” he said.
US President Donald Trump’s push for a quick way out of the Ukraine war has stirred concern and uncertainty in Munich. After a phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin last week, Trump said he and Putin would likely meet soon to negotiate a peace deal over Ukraine.
Trump later assured Zelensky he too would have a seat at the table. US officials have indicated European nations, however, would not be involved.
Don’t sign document with US: Zelensky to ministers
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky says he directed his ministers not to sign off on a proposed agreement to give the United States access to Ukraine’s rare earth minerals because the document was too focused on US interests.
The proposal, which was at the centre of Zelensky’s talks with US Vice President JD Vance on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference on Friday, did not offer any specific security guarantees in return, according to one current and one former senior official familiar with the talks.
Zelensky’s decision to reject a deal, at least for now, was described as ‘short-sighted’ by a senior White House official. “I didn’t let the ministers sign a relevant agreement because in my view it is not ready to protect us, our interest,” Zelensky told The Associated Press in Munich.
The proposal focused on how the US could use Kyiv’s rare earth minerals “as compensation” for support already given to Ukraine by the Biden administration and as payment for future aid, current and former senior Ukrainian officials said speaking anonymously so they could speak freely.
This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
Subscribe today by clicking the link and stay updated with the latest news!" Click here!
