Ukraine said on Friday it would not give up Crimea, a Ukrainian peninsula annexed by Moscow in 2014, in exchange for an end to the war, rejecting a suggestion by Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.
“There is no legal, political or moral reason to give up even one centimeter of Ukrainian territory”, wrote on Facebook the spokesperson for Ukrainian diplomacy, Oleg Nikolenko, while assuring appreciate “the Brazilian President’s efforts to find a way to stop Russian aggression”.
“Any mediation effort to restore peace in Ukraine must be based on respect for the sovereignty and full territorial integrity of Ukraine in accordance with the principles of the United Nations Charter,” he said. he adds.
On Thursday, Lula had suggested that Ukraine cede the Crimean peninsula to Russia to end the war, saying Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky could “not want everything”.
At the end of January, the Brazilian head of state formulated a proposal, with still vague outlines, for the mediation of a group of countries in the conflict in Ukraine. Lula is due to present this project to his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping in Beijing next week. The Brazilian president said he was “confident” about the chances of success of this project, hoping that the group of countries “will be created” when he returns from China.
Russia has repeatedly said in recent days that talks are impossible as it stands and has vowed to continue its military operation. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Friday that peace talks on Ukraine were only possible if they were aimed at establishing a “new world order” without American domination.
