Only Ukraine should determine the terms of a just and lasting peace, according to European Council President António Costa.
Costa said on Monday during celebrations marking the 35th anniversary of Ukraine's Independence that the European Union could not remain neutral when international law was being violated and that the EU stood with Ukraine. He said the bloc supported all serious initiatives aimed at achieving peace in Ukraine, but stressed that Ukraine alone must determine the terms of a comprehensive, just and lasting peace.
According to Costa, such a peace must affirm Ukraine's independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity, while also guaranteeing its long-term security and ability to defend itself.
He said European solidarity had remained strong and unwavering since the first day of Russia's full-scale war against Ukraine. The EU, he said, had consistently supported Ukraine politically, financially, humanitarianly, militarily and diplomatically, while also helping to build the Coalition of the Willing, which was intended to provide Ukraine with reliable security guarantees after the war and prevent such aggression from happening again.
Costa said the EU would continue to provide Ukraine with as much support as necessary during the war, in future peace negotiations and throughout the reconstruction process.
He also said the EU's vision extended beyond the war and that Ukraine's future membership in the European Union represented the best guarantee of security and long-term democratic stability both for Ukraine and Europe as a whole. According to him, the goal was to integrate Ukraine into the EU's peace project, a union of nations that transcended nationalism, upheld democracy and the rule of law, and worked together for shared prosperity and development.
Costa acknowledged that accession to the EU was a demanding process, but said the challenges involved should not weaken political resolve, which was based on geopolitical necessity and the free and democratic choice of the Ukrainian people.
According to him, Ukraine had already contributed to rebuilding a genuinely geopolitical European Union that took responsibility for its own defence, strengthened its strategic autonomy, firmly upheld international law and multilateralism, developed partnerships around the world and was ready to welcome Ukraine into the bloc.
Costa also expressed confidence that Russia would not win the war against Ukraine. He said international law must prevail and noted that, after more than four years of full-scale war, Russia had failed to achieve its objectives. He added that the human cost had been devastating and the economic consequences catastrophic, while Russia's resources were being increasingly depleted. Costa said the EU's unprecedented sanctions were also having an impact and that pressure on Russia would continue until it stopped the killing and demonstrated a genuine commitment to peace.
