Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said at a meeting with the leaders of the European political community in Budapest that a “peace with strength” approach is urgently needed, stressing the danger to Europe coming from Russia. He warned that showing weakness or “trading Europe’s positions” will not lead to a just peace, quoted by BTA.
“Peace is a reward only for the strong”, Zelensky wrote on the social network “X“, emphasizing the importance of deterrence and the strategic relationship between Europe and the US.
„We hope that America will become stronger. This is the America that Europe needs. And a strong Europe is what America needs. This is the relationship between the allies that should be cherished and should not be lost”, said the Ukrainian president.
Zelensky also stressed that relations between Europe and the US should not be lost after a possible victory of Donald Trump in the US, noting the importance of cooperation.
He also expressed gratitude for international support for Ukraine, stressing that the country is defending itself not only from Russian words, but from Russian attacks. According to him, Ukraine needs weapons, not support in negotiations. “Hugs with Russian President Vladimir Putin will not help. "Some of you have been embracing it for 20 years, and things are only getting worse," Zelensky said, as quoted by the Ukrinform agency.
The president stated that Ukraine has built a clear diplomatic system to achieve a just peace, stressing that “a just peace will be a common victory”. He emphasized that Russia must be pushed towards this peace, pointing out that after the last meeting of the European political community in July, there were attempts to make concessions to Putin, which he said were unacceptable.
„Peace with strength“ has proven its effectiveness and should be implemented again, Zelensky said. He added that Russia did not start the war for territory, but for global power, starting with control of Ukraine.
„We must push Russia towards a just peace. A just peace will be a common victory”, Zelensky said, stressing that Putin only understands war and that “only pressure can stop him”.
Zelensky pointed out that Ukraine should decide for itself what should be included in the agenda to end the war, adding that “the bill for this war should be sent to the Russians, not Ukraine”.
Zelensky concluded that during the war, Europe saw how some approaches failed, and recalled that the rapid accession of Finland and Sweden to NATO shows how important security is guaranteed through NATO. “Ukraine took this into consideration”, he added.