Ukraine's Foreign Minister and European leaders respond to Czech leader's hints about Ukraine's concessions in war
Dmytro Kuleba, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, called on European politicians like the newly elected president of the Czech Republic, Petr Pavel, to "believe in Ukraine" and not to push Kyiv to make concessions.
Source: Kuleba during a discussion at the Ukrainian Lunch, organised by the Victor Pinchuk Foundation as part of the Munich Security Conference.
As European Pravda reported, earlier Petr Pavel unexpectedly stated that the West should beware of such a victory for Ukraine, which would destroy the Russian Federation, and also suggested that Ukraine, under the pressure of hostilities, would give into Russian demands and agree to concessions that Kyiv is not allowing now. Pavel urged everyone to "be realistic – hope for the best, but prepare for the worst".
Dmytro Kuleba, who also took part in the panel, answered Petr Pavel by quoting his words.
"There is an intellectual trap that must be avoided. While supporting Ukraine, one must also believe in Ukraine, and not prepare it for the worst," the minister said.
Kuleba called the inclination of Ukraine to make concessions unacceptable.
"There is no difference between those who say the phrase 'Ukraine may give in' and the phrase 'Ukraine will probably have to give in’," explained the minister. "Therefore, believe in Ukraine and support Ukraine, and we will win."
Other panellists also took issue with Pavel, leaving him as the only participant to make such assumptions.
"To those who say 'be realistic', I want to remind you that a year ago, 'being realistic' meant not thinking that we would end up here today. To be realistic is to be short-sighted," Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson said. He also urged all partners of Ukraine to "believe in what you are doing".
The Prime Minister of Finland, Sanna Marin, for her part, urged not to offer Russia an "easy defeat" while trying to avoid imagined undesirable consequences.
"Russia must pay a really high price for the attack on Ukraine. All 400 million of frozen Russian money must be spent in Ukraine. The price for Russia for this attack must be really high. If it is the one they master, then there will be another attack. And Russia must really lose the war," the head of the Finnish government said.
Background: Earlier in Munich, the US accused the Russian Federation of crimes against humanity during the war in Ukraine, and Poland announced that it would consider the transfer of MiG-29 aircraft to Ukraine.
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