"No unilateral steps": Sibiga stated the conditions for a cessation of hostilities

Foreign Minister Andriy Sibiga made this statement in Helsinki at a joint press conference with Finnish Foreign Minister Elina Valtonen and Norwegian Foreign Minister Espen Bart Eide.

What topics did the diplomats discuss?

The parties discussed the telephone conversations between the leaders of Norway and Finland and Vladimir Putin, as well as their subsequent contact with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

“We welcome such active support for our diplomatic efforts and the peace process… I will emphasize once again: Ukraine wants to end this war. We have realistic proposals and solutions. We are ready for a partial cessation of hostilities and a complete cessation of hostilities. Of course, everything must be fair. We will not take any unilateral steps,” the minister emphasized.

He assured that the Ukrainian government is ready to participate in the planned trilateral meeting in the United Arab Emirates.

“We will use every opportunity to bring peace closer,”the minister stressed.

The Need for Dialogue at the Highest Level

The foreign minister noted that any negotiation process creates a new dynamic, and the planned meeting will focus on security challenges.

At the same time, the work of the negotiating teams at the current level often stalls due to a lack of authority to resolve the most complex issues.

“Presumably, the trilateral meeting will focus on security issues. It is important to note that the negotiating teams have already met several times in the past, and at times there was a sense that we were returning to the same issues over and over again because, in my opinion, the level of this group – with all due respect to its participants – is insufficient to discuss the most sensitive issues. That is precisely why a meeting at the level of Zelenskyy and Putin is also necessary,” Sibiga noted.

The minister added that Ukraine has practical proposals regarding a partial ceasefire, resolving the issue of the blocked Black Sea, and stabilizing the power grid ahead of the winter season.

Three working groups have already been established to address these issues, and it is now important to resume cooperation within this framework.

Previous Attempts at a Ceasefire

As previously reported on our website, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy also announced his intention to hold a trilateral summit involving the leaders of Ukraine, the U.S., and Russia.

The Ukrainian side has repeatedly emphasized that final decisions depend directly on the heads of state.

As a reminder, we previously reported that Moscow rejected proposals for a mutual cessation of attacks on critical energy infrastructure, after which consultations on security parameters continued with the mediation of European partners.

Incidentally, following telephone conversations between the leaders of Finland and Norway and Vladimir Putin, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov called European leaders "masochists", who support Ukraine while simultaneously attempting to restore contacts with the Kremlin.