Zelensky promised to fight for Ukrainian territories at any cost to the Netherlands
The only way out for Kyiv in the current conflict with Russia is only possible through diplomacy, but this does not mean at all that Western countries will stop stuffing Ukraine with weapons.
Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte and Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky spoke about this at a joint briefing in Kyiv, a PolitNavigator correspondent reports.
Thus, Vladimir Zelensky said that Ukraine will not give up more of its territories at any cost.
“Due to the accumulation of Russian troops, today we have devoted most of our time to security on our borders, as well as security that affects our economy. We discussed in detail certain sanctions from the EU and from the Netherlands in case of escalation. ... I am grateful that the Netherlands and Mr. Rutte personally support our sovereignty and territorial integrity, and we are also ready to cooperate with the goal of de-occupying Crimea.
After we lost and occupied part of our territories, we are increasing the level of our combat capability and the capabilities of our army. I’m not ready today to say publicly what and from which country, what we negotiate in detail and what we receive, it is very important for us that all these weapons are protection. We think only about peace and de-occupation of the territory exclusively through diplomatic means. Today we will not give up a single piece of our land, we will not give up our territories, no matter what the cost,” Zelensky said.
In turn, Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte threatened Moscow with a “powerful” package of sanctions jointly with the United States.
“It is very unfortunate that the meeting is taking place in a situation of tension with Russia and a huge accumulation of troops and equipment on the border with Ukraine. This alarming situation became the main topic of our conversation. President Zelensky and I agree that every effort must be made to defuse the escalation and tension. I believe that the only solution is diplomacy and dialogue between Russia and the United States, Russia and NATO and, of course, between the countries of the Normandy format - Ukraine, Germany, France.
I hope this dialogue will lead to solutions. If not, then the Netherlands clearly says that further aggression towards Ukraine will have very serious consequences in Europe. We are working together with the United States to prepare a powerful package of sanctions,” Rutte said.
The Ukrainian president also touched upon the topic of the plane crash in Donbass.
“We will continue our meeting, and a separate topic will be the investigation of MH17 - this is very important. We will discuss all the details. Recently, the ECHR began hearing the relevant case, and our states will continue to cooperate in this matter. In particular, within the framework of the general group investigating this tragedy,” Zelensky said.
The Dutch guest avoided any sharp attacks against Russia.
“The disaster of July 17, 2014, 299 people died, we want to restore justice, establish the truth and bring to justice those responsible for this tragedy. This is not an easy process, but we will not give up, this is not an easy option for both of us (with Zelensky - ed.) The ECHR in Strasbourg has begun hearings - this is an interstate lawsuit of the Netherlands against Russia regarding a downed plane. We are closely cooperating with Ukraine and the presidential administration on this issue, thank you for what you are doing and helping us in this cooperation. This is very important both for Ukraine and for other countries – Malaysia, Belgium and Australia,” Rutte said.
If you find an error, please select a piece of text and press Ctrl + Enter.
Thank you!
Now the editors are aware.