Ukraine asks Europe to join talks on “airport ceasefire” with Russia

Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said this in an interview with Politico on the sidelines of the meeting of EU foreign ministers in Brussels, Ukrinform reports.

“We probably need a new role of Europe in our peace efforts. Maybe we would try to resolve or to achieve a so-called airport ceasefire,” Sybiha said.

According to him, the idea is for Kyiv and Moscow to agree not to strike each other’s airports. Russian President Vladimir Putin could be interested in such an arrangement because major Russian airports, including Moscow’s Sheremetyevo and St. Petersburg’s Pulkovo, are becoming increasingly vulnerable to Ukrainian long-range attacks.

“Maybe our European allies, by establishing a platform, or maybe an ad hoc group, we could discuss [the airport ceasefire],” the minister said, adding that Volodymyr Zelensky has already raised the issue in talks with several European leaders.

At the same time, the Ukrainian Foreign Minister stressed that Ukraine is not asking Europe to replace the United States in the negotiation process.

“It should be a complementary track – not instead, not alternative,” he noted, adding that Europe should speak “with one voice.”

According to the publication, Sybiha also discussed the “airport ceasefire” proposal behind closed doors with EU foreign ministers.

Commenting on Putin’s suggestion that former German Chancellor Gerhard Schröder – a longtime associate of Russian state companies – could act as a European mediator, Sybiha joked that Putin might as well nominate American action movie star Steven Seagal or French actor Gérard Depardieu, both prominent sympathizers of Putin's Russia.

The Minister also cited a €90 billion EU loan, stabilization along the front line and new defense deals with Gulf countries as signs that Kyiv has more leverage in any future talks with Putin.

Ukraine’s bid to join the European Union remains central to that leverage. Sybiha noted that EU accession is a key part of the “security guarantees” Ukraine needs before it can sign any peace agreement.

He argued that a full EU membership agreement should be signed in 2027, rather than some form of associated membership, as reportedly proposed by Germany.

As reported by Ukrinform, Sybiha called for strengthening Europe’s role in peace efforts during a meeting of the EU Foreign Affairs Council.

On May 11, Ukraine’s Foreign Minister was in Brussels, where he took part in EU and NATO events as well as a ministerial meeting of the International Coalition for the Return of Ukrainian Children.