No one in Ukraine will recognize loss of even millimeter of territory – Budanov

Striving for peace is common sense, not a sign of weakness, but no one in Ukraine will agree to recognize the loss of Ukrainian territory, Head of the Ukrainian President’s Office Lieutenant General Kyrylo Budanov said at the 18th annual Kyiv Security Forum titled "Darkness or Dawn: Is There Light Ahead?"

Asked whether U.S. President Donald Trump is a strong ally, Budanov called the United States a strategic ally of Ukraine.

"We consider the United States a strategic ally. I hope they see us the same way. But I hope so," he said.

The situation around U.S.-Iran negotiations "creates certain complications for the intensity of negotiations" on Ukraine, Budanov said.

"But we are waiting for them [U.S. envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner] in Kyiv. This is information absolutely known to everyone. And I think it will still happen," he said.

At the same time, he said the negotiation process and its sensitive aspects should not be disclosed.

"We are trying to do our work, I believe in it. That is all I will tell you. The negotiation process in any case – all its sensitive aspects – cannot be disclosed," the lieutenant general said.

Striving for peace is common sense, not a sign of weakness, Budanov said.

"The conditions for achieving peace can be completely different. I think no one in Ukraine will agree to recognize the loss of even a millimeter of our territory. Of that I am absolutely certain. That we have not reached agreement is also publicly known. But that is what this process exists for. It may or may not achieve its goal. That is also a normal situation. We are ready for any turn of events. If we are strong, that will give us, as they say, room to maneuver. If we are weak, conditions will be dictated to us," he said.

"No one in the world will deal with the weak, and no international law will work here," Budanov said.

The Kyiv Security Forum is an annual international event founded in 2007 at the initiative of Arseniy Yatsenyuk’s Open Ukraine Foundation.