UA
FR
DEUkraine has finally broken with the “Russian measure,” and its future in alliance with Western countries is irreversible. That was stated by Minister for Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Dmytro Kuleba in an interview with the German magazine International Politics.
According to the head of the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry, official Kyiv will not sacrifice these principles in the settlement in Donbas and Crimea de-occupation processes.
He also noted that a peace agreement with the Russian Federation was to be reached via diplomatic methods. At the same time, Ukraine will by no means deviate from two fundamental principles.
“Firstly, Ukraine will never give up Crimea or Donbas. And secondly, it will continue its path as a European country, as a part of the West, because its breaking with the ‘Russian mir’ is final. Everything else is a matter of time and diplomacy,” Kuleba said.
At the same time, he rejected the possibility of maintaining Russia’s influence in Donbas in exchange for peace.
“We consider the status of the regions, which are now temporarily under occupation, to be only within Ukraine and under decentralisation, which we are successfully implementing now. That gives the regions the right to manage their budget independently and elect their local representatives. But we will never allow the region to be outside the Ukrainian constitution and legal system, e.g. to hold elections according to a different election law than the one applicable to the whole of Ukraine,” the minister said.
He also added that after de-occupation Ukraine’s foreign policy would not be changed, and its “membership in the Euro-Atlantic West remains irreversible.”
To recap, earlier Kuleba declared that the potential of negotiations in Minsk and Norman formats regarding settlement in Donbas isn’t exhausted yet. Besides, the Ukrainian side wants to achieve the principle of peaceful coexistence in relations with Russia.
Bohdan Marusyak
