Ukraine outlines the only way to achieve peace

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba (Photo: Pravda).

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said real peace will only be achieved in Ukraine by restoring the country's borders and Ukraine regaining the Crimean peninsula.

“Real peace means restoring Ukraine’s internationally recognized borders. Real peace means a safe homeland for those targeted in Ukraine’s Crimea region,” Kuleba said in a virtual speech at the Black Sea Security Conference in Bucharest on April 13.

"Real peace means grain ships in the Black Sea, not warships. A world that upholds international law, not force, is what real peace means. That is what we are fighting for," Kuleba added.

According to the Ukrainian diplomat , if Russia continues to control Crimea, Moscow will use the peninsula "as a launching pad to launch a military operation in Ukraine again and take full control of the Black Sea".

"We will not allow this to happen. That is why we will liberate every inch of our land, down to the last of our people. That is also why today we call for the demilitarization of the Black Sea so that peaceful law-abiding nations can once again use this common sea for trade, travel and livelihood freely without fear of Russian warships," Mr. Kuleba stressed.

The Ukrainian foreign minister also recalled the impact of Russia's military campaign, saying it had left a "wound in the heart of Europe" and that it was time to turn the Black Sea into a "NATO sea".

Commenting on Kiev's idea of ​​demilitarizing the Black Sea and turning it into a "NATO sea", Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said: "The Black Sea will never be a "NATO sea", but a common sea." Mr. Peskov emphasized that for all coastal countries, the Black Sea must be a sea of ​​cooperation, exchange and safety.

Crimea region in southern Ukraine (Photo: NYT).

Russia annexed the Crimean peninsula in 2014 after a referendum. After annexing Crimea, Russia invested in building infrastructure such as roads and bridges and electricity grids, and deployed many military equipment, turning Crimea into a military logistics center for Russian forces.

Peace talks between Moscow and Kiev have been deadlocked since March last year due to disagreements over preconditions. Russia has repeatedly said that the military campaign will only end when Ukraine accepts the "new territorial reality", meaning the territories annexed to Russia including Crimea, Kherson, Zaporizhia, Lugansk and Donetsk. Meanwhile, Kiev has stated that peace talks will only take place when Moscow withdraws all its troops and restores Ukraine's territorial integrity according to the borders recognized in 1991.

The Kremlin recently said Russia has no choice but to continue the more than year-long war in Ukraine and that Moscow sees no diplomatic solution at present.

Source: https://dantri.com.vn/the-gioi/ukraine-neu-cach-duy-nhat-gianh-duoc-hoa-binh-20230413174811415.htm