Ukraine won’t recognize ‘occupied territories’ – FM
Ukraine will never recognize Russia’s sovereignty over the territories it has lost to Moscow since 2014, Foreign Minister Andrey Sibiga has insisted.
Kiev still claims Crimea, the Donetsk, and Lugansk People’s Republics, as well as Kherson and Zaporozhye Regions as its own. The territories officially became part of Russia after referendums in 2014 and 2022. Moscow has maintained that their status cannot be a matter of any future negotiations.
When asked about Kiev’s ‘red lines’ during an interview with RBK-Ukraine media outlet on Monday, Sibiga said that “there are fundamental things that are non-negotiable,” mentioning “Ukraine’s territorial integrity and sovereignty” as the prime example of such issues.
“Ukraine will never recognize the occupied territories,” the diplomat clarified.
The minister also pointed out that Kiev will not accept any third parties dictating to it which blocs it can join and which it cannot. While acknowledging that there is no consensus on Ukraine’s potential accession to NATO among the bloc’s current members, the official still argued that these aspirations “cannot be taken off the agenda.”
When launching military action against the neighboring country in February 2022, Russian President Vladimir Putin cited the prospect of Ukraine joining NATO as one of the prime reasons behind the conflict.
The third point on which Ukraine is not prepared to budge, according to Sibiga, is the number of personnel in its armed forces, and its capabilities.
Sibiga stated that the recent US-Ukrainian negotiations in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, indicated Kiev's willingness to accept a 30-day ceasefire proposed by Washington. However, he stressed that Ukraine seeks a comprehensive peace agreement with Moscow rather than just freezing the conflict.
The Kremlin has consistently spoken out against the prospect of a frozen conflict.
Speaking to ABC News on Sunday, US National Security Adviser Mike Waltz dismissed Ukraine’s NATO membership as “incredibly unlikely,” while adding that a within potential settlement to the conflict there “is going to be some type of territory for future security guarantees” for Kiev.
A report from the British outlet The Independent on Sunday, citing anonymous Ukrainian officials, indicated that Kiev has accepted the current static battle lines, with Russia retaining some territory, for now. However, officials stressed to the outlet that Ukraine will not concede any additional land, particularly in the Zaporozhye and Kherson regions, which Russia claims but are under Ukrainian control.
