Council of Europe Chief Lays Out Conditions for a Just Peace in Ukraine
The Secretary General of the Council of Europe, Alain Berset, has outlined a set of core principles that must underpin any credible settlement to end Russia’s war against Ukraine.
The Gaze informs about it, referring to Politico.
Berset stressed that negotiations over the war cannot be viewed in isolation but must be assessed within a broader international and legal framework.
According to him, the first major test of any peace process is accountability. Russia, he said, must be held responsible for the war and for crimes committed during it. He pointed to the establishment of the Register of Damage and the creation of a dedicated commission to examine claims from victims as concrete steps already taken in this direction.
A second non-negotiable principle, Berset noted, is full alignment with international law. Any peace agreement and post-war reconstruction, he argued, must be firmly anchored in legal norms, including the European Convention on Human Rights.
The third critical benchmark concerns security. Berset said a viable settlement must include robust security guarantees and safeguards capable of preventing renewed Russian aggression.
He cautioned that a “bad peace” for Ukraine would inevitably translate into a strategic loss for Europe as a whole. Simply freezing a war of this magnitude would dramatically reshape Europe’s security risks rather than reduce them.
“Certain political compromises may be inevitable as part of any peace agreement. But we must be aware that concessions on key principles, such as accountability, create long-term consequences for stability,” Berset said.
He also warned that Moscow would seek to exploit any peace deal, even one deeply unfair to Ukraine, to restore its standing and influence on the international stage.
As The Gaze reported earlier, on Monday, following talks with U.S. President Donald Trump, the Ukrainian head of state Volodymyr Zelenskyy issued a summary statement outlining the key points agreed upon during the discussion,
Read also on The Gaze: What the Zelenskyy–Trump Meeting Achieved and What It Didn’t?