The international delegation, headed by Ana Lucía Bueno, ICRC Public Health Coordinator, and Sujit Panda, Head of the Physical Rehabilitation…
The Ukrainian side is ready to continue working as professionally, constructively, and honestly as possible so that the final agreement to establish peace is strong and fair.
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated this in Berlin during a joint media briefing with German Federal Chancellor Friedrich Merz.
The Head of State thanked the German side for the opportunity to intensify joint efforts toward achieving peace and expressed hope that the negotiations taking place these days would help bring it closer.
“We feel that our partners hear Ukraine, are ready to help, and are seeking precisely those solutions that can make peace dignified and security guaranteed. I emphasize this again, as I did during the negotiations: security guarantees must work and must be understandable above all to the people of Ukraine”, — Volodymyr Zelenskyy stressed.
The President also reported on negotiations with the U.S. delegation that are taking place in Berlin on December 14–15. According to him, the Ukrainian delegation is working almost around the clock to achieve concrete results.
“Of course, not all issues are simple. There are difficult topics, in particular those concerning territories. But all sides are ready to work productively to find solutions that respect Ukraine and bring the end of the war closer. Ukraine is ready to continue working as professionally, constructively, and honestly as possible so that the final agreement is strong”, — the Head of State emphasized.
German Federal Chancellor Friedrich Merz, for his part, noted that after years of war, a ceasefire is necessary that preserves Ukraine’s sovereignty and is backed by material and security guarantees from the United States and Europe. According to him, such a solution must also preserve the unity and strength of the European Union and NATO and confirm Ukraine’s European perspective.
“The key issue remains the settlement of territorial matters. Only the Ukrainian people and the President of Ukraine, who have been defending their land for almost four years now, can provide the answer”, — the Chancellor emphasized.
Friedrich Merz also noted that pressure on Russia will continue and that work on using frozen Russian assets for the benefit of Ukraine is ongoing.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy stressed that the European decisions currently under discussion may have both short-term and long-term effects.
“This is the right signal to Russia that the war must be ended, because the one who starts the war must lose the most from it”, — the President of Ukraine noted.
