Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine Andriy Yermak took part in a thematic conference dedicated to the sixth point of the Peace Formula “Withdrawal of Russian troops and cessation of hostilities”.
The event was organized by Ukraine and Lithuania as co-chairs of the working group on this point implementation. The conference was attended by representatives of 56 countries and organizations. In particular, participating online from Kyiv was the Chair of the Subcommittee on Security and Defense of the European Parliament's Committee on Foreign Affairs, Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann, who today was awarded the Order of Merit, III class, by the President of Ukraine for her support of our country as Chair of the Bundestag's Defense Committee.
The Ukrainian side was also represented by Minister of Defense Rustem Umerov, Prosecutor General Andriy Kostin, Deputy Head of the Presidential Office Roman Mashovets, and Advisers to the Head of the Presidential Office Dariia Zarivna and Oleksandr Bevz.
Andriy Yermak noted that the complete withdrawal of Russian troops from the sovereign territory of Ukraine is a crucial prerequisite for the restoration of a just and lasting peace.
“We should not hope that this war will end when the belligerents start communicating. Do not be deceived. Because this war will end when the last soldier of the invading army returns home,” he said.
The Head of the Presidential Office also stressed that joint international pressure on Russia could and should become a precedent.
“This will prove to the whole world that the desire for territorial conquests is immoral and pointless in the 21st century. The seized property will have to be returned to its rightful owners. Because no matter how strong the military power of the aggressor is, the international community will always be stronger,” Andriy Yermak said.
Minister of Defense of Lithuania Laurynas Kasčiūnas noted that the implementation of this point of the Formula has several basic principles. In particular, the Russian Federation must immediately, fully and unconditionally withdraw all its military forces from the territory of Ukraine within its internationally recognized borders, including Crimea, occupied in 2014, and part of Donbas. Ukraine's territorial integrity should be officially reaffirmed by resolutions of international organizations and individual states.
“The withdrawal agreement should deal only with the technical aspects of withdrawal. There are no grounds for legitimizing the occupying troops. The withdrawal is carried out quickly and in accordance with the agreed timeframe. It is a matter of months, not years. All infrastructure and financial assets temporarily seized by Russian troops must be unconditionally transferred to Ukraine,” Laurynas Kasčiūnas said.
In addition, control over the withdrawal of the occupying forces should be entrusted to international organizations. No sanctions against the Russian Federation will be lifted until the withdrawal agreement is implemented. Russia must also be held accountable for war crimes committed during the occupation.
Minister of Defense Rustem Umerov stressed that any diplomatic efforts will be successful if Ukraine's position in the negotiations is strong and is backed by decisions that will change the situation on the battlefield. He added that the second point of the Victory Plan, initiated by Volodymyr Zelenskyy, contains a clear list of weapons that Ukrainian warriors need. This will be the best argument for the Russian occupiers to withdraw their troops from the sovereign territory of Ukraine.
Prosecutor General Andriy Kostin noted that after the liberation of the occupied territories, important steps that Ukraine will take with the support of international partners will be to ensure the rule of law and implement elements of transitional justice.
The Chair of the Subcommittee on Security and Defense of the European Parliament's Committee on Foreign Affairs, Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann, noted that the European Parliament continues to insist that EU Member States provide Ukraine with all necessary military assistance to effectively defend itself against the aggressor and to regain full control over all internationally recognized territory. In particular, this includes the lifting of restrictions on the use of Western weapons against military targets on the territory of the Russian Federation.
Deputy Head of the Presidential Office Roman Mashovets stressed that forcing the aggressor to leave the territory of Ukraine is exactly the condition necessary to end the war. He also noted that it is important to create an international monitoring mechanism to ensure transparency in the process of liberation of the territory of Ukraine.
This conference was the eighth of those held in continuation of the first Peace Summit. Each of these events results in a Joint Communiqué. After the conferences, proposals for the second Peace Summit will be formulated based on all ten points of the Peace Formula.
The text of the Joint Communiqué, approved by the participants of this conference, is available below.