FM Sybiha: ‘By refusing direct peace talks, Putin lost his chance to get out of his failed war’
Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha stated that Russian President Vladimir Putin lost his chance to get out of his failed war by refusing President Zelensky’s offer for direct peace talks.
Sybiha wrote this on social media platform X, Ukrinform reports.
“By refusing President Zelenskyy’s offer for direct peace talks, Putin lost his chance to get out of his failed war. Things will only get worse for Russia. Battlefield losses will continue to grow. Failures will get more humiliating. The economy will plunge deeper into recession. More jobs will be lost, taxes will be growing, and inflation will hit those most vulnerable,” the Minister said.
He stressed that there are already no safe places in Russia that are beyond Ukraine’s “long-range sanctions,” the intensity of which will continue to increase.
International pressure on Russia will also intensify, including the use of frozen assets, entry bans, and inevitable accountability for crimes, the Foreign Minister added.
Sybiha said all of this is happening because “the Kremlin wants to keep in power at any cost and is ready to sacrifice his country’s future and kill millions of people for his insane delusions,” and that he refuses to accept a simple truth: he will never achieve his goals on the battlefield.
“Russia will still have to accept a diplomatic solution but the terms will be far worse,” he emphasized.
The Minister added that the Russian leader should abandon any false hopes about Ukraine’s collapse or reduced support from its partners.
“Putin’s refusal of peace should lead to a significant increase in international pressure on Russia and support for Ukraine,” he said.
As reported by Ukrinform, on June 4, President Volodymyr Zelensky sent an open letter to Putin proposing a personal meeting to end the war, suggesting it could take place in a third country traditionally used for international negotiations.
The Russian President responded the following day, saying he sees no point in meeting the Ukrainian President at this time.
Zelensky said Putin’s response to his open letter was weak and showed that Russia once again chose war.