Thank you so much, dear friend, thank you so much, Edi, Prime Minister Rama, thank you!
And thank you, Albania, for hosting us today, not just in a beautiful country, but in a country that believes in Europe and stands for its future.
Dear friends!
Thank you all for your support, and I appreciate that we share the same understanding – this war, the war of Russian against Ukraine, must be ended as soon as possible, and in a just way. Ukraine needs peace. Peace in Europe depends on whether Ukraine will get it.
All of you know that this week we had a real chance to take important steps toward ending this war – if only Putin hadn’t been afraid to come to Türkiye. I was in Ankara yesterday – and thanks for participation and hosting us, President Erdoğan – and I was ready for a direct meeting with Putin – whether in Ankara or in Istanbul – and not just for a meeting, but to resolve all the important issues, to my mind. But he didn’t agree to anything. I mean, Putin. You can also see that the Russian delegation that came to Istanbul is of a very low level. None of them are people who actually make decisions in Russia. Still, I sent our team to Istanbul, led by Ukraine’s Minister of Defense, at least to see if those Russians can actually decide anything. Our number one priority is a full, unconditional, and honest ceasefire. This must happen immediately to stop the killing and create a solid basis for diplomacy, first of all. And if the Russian representatives in Istanbul today cannot even agree to that – to ceasefire, to this clearly necessary first step – then it will be 100% clear that Putin continues to undermine diplomacy. If that’s not the case, there must be at least some result today, starting with a ceasefire. The Ukrainian delegation has a mandate to make decisions.
As we saw yesterday, Russia sent almost the same people it sent in 2022. This shows that Russia hasn’t changed its basic approach – they make many statements, many threats, but solve nothing. They’re doing everything they can to turn this Istanbul meeting into a staged, empty process – just like the ones in 2022. It’s not us or Western leaders who are disrupting the negotiations, as the Russians have been claiming for years – it’s Russians who send empty heads to the talks, and that’s what destroys the meaning of diplomacy. So if it turns out that the Russian delegation really is just theatrical and can’t deliver any results today, the world must respond. There needs to be a strong reaction, including sanctions against Russia’s energy sector and banks. Pressure must continue to rise until real progress is made.
Ukraine is ready to take all realistic steps to end this war. I call on Putin to give his delegation real authority.
We need a full stop to the killing – long enough to give diplomacy a real chance. Secondly, we must build at least a minimum level of trust in the negotiation process. This can be done by releasing prisoners of war, returning Ukrainian children taken by Russia, and releasing civilian hostages currently held by the Russian side. Third, we need to clearly define which issues must be handled at the leadership level – not below. We all know who makes the real decisions in Russia. Fourth, together with the leaders and countries who are here with us today, we’ve begun to create a new security architecture for Ukraine and all of Europe. I thank everyone who is on board. Now it’s time to move to very practical steps. And fifth — the United States. President Trump wants to end this war. We need to keep working closely with the President and stay as coordinated as possible. Long-term U.S. support is also essential. An American backstop is needed. It’s important that we all work together on every level to make that happen.
Of course, I will keep you informed throughout the day about what is happening in Istanbul and whether there’s any chance the Russian delegation will take real steps to stop the killing and bring the war to an end.
Thank you, Edi, again for the invitation.
