'We want unconditional ceasefire, we're ready to resist': Ukraine's Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha on peace talks

Hours ahead of US President Donald Trump and Russian leader Vladimir Putin’s scheduled talks, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said on Friday that his country wants an unconditional ceasefire with Russia and is willing to resist if Russia does not accept the proposal on the table.

In a conversation with Managing Editor Palki Sharma at Firstpost’s IdeasPod during the Raisina Dialogue, Sybiha said that Ukraine wants to end the war this year but will compromise on some fundamentals, such as the territorial integrity of Ukraine.

“We believe the war will end this year — we really want the war to end this year. All of us are united by this strategic goal to achieve just, comprehensive, and long-lasting peace. Ukraine supports the US proposal for a ceasefire — temporary ceasefire. We are expecting the Russian response to accept the unconditional ceasefire. It will be a huge step forward to make this peace closer,” said Sybiha.

In the US-Ukraine talks in Saudi Arabia last week, Ukraine accepted a US-backed proposal for a 30-day ceasefire. Even as Trump has urged Putin to accept the proposal, he has not accepted it unconditionally. Instead, he has made maximalist demands which repeat some longstanding demands and some new ones as well.

‘The war is to restore international order’

Sybiha said that Ukraine’s war with Russia was not just the nation’s war but a war for “the restoration of the international order based on international law”.

Russia invaded Ukraine on February 22, 2022, and the two countries have been at a war since. It was the second Russian invasion of Ukraine. In 2014, Russia invaded and annexed Ukraine’s Crimea region. During 2014-22, Russia also sponsored a separatist insurgency in eastern Ukraine.

Sybiha said that it is in the interest of all nations to support Ukraine to discourage “other actors on the world arena to act the same way” as Russia.

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“This war is about restoration of the world order based on respect of territorial integrity and sovereignty — the UN Charter. That’s why we need support of international community — diplomatic support, economical support, and humanitarian support. It is in the interest of all countries that in Ukraine just and comprehensive peace will be settled to avoid and to prevent the same,” said Sybiha.

‘We won’t compromise territorial integrity’: Sybiha lists Ukraine’s red lines

While Sybiha said that Ukraine wants to end the war this year and that the country prefers diplomacy over fighting, he said that the ceasefire will not come at the cost of country’s capitulation. He said that that Ukraine will not compromise with the country’s territorial integrity.

At a time when Russia is on the offensive in the Kursk province, where Ukraine had occupied large swathes of the province, Sybiha said that Russia has so far not been able to achieve any of its objectives. He, however, admitted that Ukraine’s position could be stronger than what it is.

In August 2024, Ukraine made an incursion into Russia’s Kursk and neighbouring Bryansk province and occupied large swathes of territories. The idea was that these occupied territories would be used in any peace talks with Russia to swap territories controlled by Russia. However, in recent days, in an offensive that coincided with the Trump administration’s suspension of intelligence-sharing and military aid, Russia has retaken most of those territories and foiled the plan of exchanging those in lieu of Russia-occupied territory in eastern Ukraine.

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“Russia didn’t achieve any strategic goal in Ukraine. We have probably the strongest army on the European continent – approximately 1 million soldiers with combat daily experience there,” said Sybiha

As for the presently disadvantaged position on the battlefield, at least in Kursk, Sybiha said that Russia is 26 times bigger than Ukraine and has nuclear capacity.

Despite such a difference, Ukraine has prevailed so far, said Sybiha.

“We prevailed and managed to liberate 50 per cent of occupied territories. We managed to establish the grain corridor in the Black Sea and to restrict the capacities of the Russian Black Sea fleet. Our economy works and Russia has not occupied any strategic area” said Sybiha.

While Putin has reiterated his maximalist demands in the wake of the ceasefire proposal being discussed currently, Sybiha listed Ukraine’s own red lines.

Sybiha said, “They demanded our capitulation and they didn’t change their approach. They don’t want to recognise us as an independent state. Ukraine will never accept restriction on the military. There is no possibility to restrict our choice to become a member of any union or any alliance. There will be no compromises of our territorial integrity and sovereignty. Ukraine will never recognise any part of territories occupied by Russians. These things are crucial and fundamental in our peace process.”

For years, Putin has demanded Ukraine formally declares neutrality and distances from the West. In the ‘Istanbul Protocol’ that emerged when Ukraine and Russia briefly engaged in direct peace talks in 2022, Russia demanded significant limits on Ukraine’s military. After Ukraine and the United States asked Putin to accept the temporary ceasefire proposal, Putin said he would accept such a ceasefire only on his conditions.

Putin demanded that Ukrainian troops in Kursk would not be allowed to withdraw and they would need to surrender in case of a ceasefire. He further demanded that Ukraine would not receive weapons during the ceasefire and would neither mobilise nor train soldiers during the ceasefire. He further said that he wanted terms that lead to “long-term peace” and “eliminate the original causes of this crisis” in an apparent reference to his longstanding demands, such as Ukraine formally ruling out joining Nato, recognising the territory under Russian occupation as Russian sovereign territory, including Russian language in formal business, among other demands.

In his concluding comments, Sybiha summed up the situation that Ukraine faces. When asked if Ukraine would continue fighting if no ceasefire is reached, Sybiha said that the country does not have any other choice.

“We are ready to resist. We do not have a choice. This war is existential to us,” said Sybiha.