Yermak: Kyiv Wants Peace Like No Other, but It Requires More Than Just Diplomacy

Ukraine can achieve a lasting peace with US leadership and European support. But this requires a number of conditions to be met, including increased pressure on Russia and security guarantees for Kyiv.

The head of the Ukrainian President's Office, Andriy Yermak, writes about this in his column for The Guardian ahead of the talks between the Ukrainian and American delegations in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

‘A ceasefire in Ukraine will not come through diplomatic gestures alone. A number of conditions are crucial beforehand in order to ensure that peace – when it comes – is lasting,’ Yermak stressed.

According to him, this includes political and financial pressure on Russia to raise the price of resuming the conflict. ‘First, Ukraine must be given security guarantees that lend credibility to a future ceasefire agreement. Second, Europe must act decisively to strengthen and increase the sanctions against Russia. And third, Europe should take control of the frozen Russian assets to enable continued and increased support for Ukraine,’ the head of the Office stressed.

Yermak noted that the European Council meeting held last week proves that Europe - when united - can take control of its own security and destiny. Therefore, according to him, it is the interest in strong European security that motivates Ukraine to insist on the fulfilment of these conditions.

‘Moscow's decade-long aggression against Ukraine cannot be taken lightly - European leaders recognise this, and we urge them to implement the promising agreements reached during the discussions in Brussels last Thursday at this critical time,’ Yermak said.

He noted that the €150 billion European defence plan, combined with a potential €20 billion for Ukraine's defence, will make a tangible contribution to the creation of a credible defence architecture for the whole of Europe.

‘A credible deterrent will help ensure that any ceasefire has the best chance of becoming a lasting peace. Europe cannot allow a ceasefire that will only allow Russia to rearm, rebuild its forces and return for more Ukrainian land and resources,’ Yermak said.

He also added that one of the most powerful tools in Europe's arsenal is €300 billion of frozen Russian assets held in Western financial institutions. ‘These resources should remain under embargo, and the income from them should be used to support Ukraine's financial recovery. Allowing Russia to return these funds after its aggressive war would have catastrophic consequences,’ he explained.

The Head of the Office of the President stressed that Ukraine appreciates the generosity of the United States and its efforts to achieve peace. ‘But European unity is no less important in this process. Only together can we build a security architecture that will guarantee peace and prosperity for generations to come,’ Yermak concluded.

As The Gaze previously reported, on Tuesday in Saudi Arabia, Ukraine and the United States are holding talks on ways to end the war that Moscow has unleashed against Kyiv. The key topics of the meeting are the path to peace and bilateral relations between Ukraine and the United States.