Swedish PM calls for forcing Putin to negotiating table
He made this statement after meeting with EU leaders in Angola, Ukrinform reports, according to the article published by The Guardian.
"It is in Sweden's interest that Russia's aggression against neighbouring countries never pays off. Otherwise, what happens in Ukraine today could affect one of us in the EU tomorrow. It is clear that Putin must be forced to the negotiating table," he said.
Kristersson also called for increasing pressure on Russia by confiscating Russian assets held in European banks.
"The money will be used to strengthen Ukraine's defence and to pay for the damage Russia has caused to Ukraine," Kristersson emphasized.
As Ukrinform reported, earlier US media published information that the Trump administration conducted secret consultations with Russians to develop a new plan to end the war in Ukraine.
According to an Axios report, the plan consists of 28 points divided into four main categories: peace in Ukraine, security guarantees, security in Europe, and future relations of the US with Russia and Ukraine. In particular, the media reported that Kyiv is expected to give up Russian-controlled areas of Donbas, reduce its army, and relinquish a significant portion of its weapons. The plan foresees that the transfer of the remaining Donbas territories would occur in exchange for security guarantees from the US for Kyiv and Europe, though the mechanism for these guarantees is not clearly defined.
US lawmakers stated that during a conversation with Secretary of State Marco Rubio, he said the US peace plan is a wish list of the Russians rather than an actual proposal from Washington. At the same time, Rubio denied this, stressing that the peace proposal was developed by the US. Ukraine and the United States, following talks between the two countries' delegations in Geneva, agreed to continue working on joint proposals for a peace agreement. Both sides recognized the consultations as extremely productive. They confirmed that any future agreement must fully respect Ukraine's sovereignty and ensure a stable and fair peace. Following the negotiations, the parties prepared an updated and revised framework document for peace.
On Monday, November 24, an informal EU leaders' summit on peace in Ukraine took place in Angola. Following the summit, European Council President António Costa and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen highlighted significant progress in the Geneva negotiations toward establishing peace in Ukraine.
