On Thursday 20 March, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called on European leaders to put pressure on Russia to accept the terms of the 11 March agreement between Ukraine and the United States.
“The proposals made in Jeddah on March 11 are still on the table. We must continue to put pressure on Russia to make them a reality”, emphasised the President during an appearance on VTC. “Putin must stop making unnecessary demands that only prolong the war, and must start fulfilling what he promises to the world”, he added.
In his opinion, ongoing diplomatic efforts do not mean that Russia should face less pressure. “That’s crucial to reducing the chances of a Russian hoax. We all know how easily Moscow disregards its promises”, he reminded us.
This message was heard by 26 European leaders who – all except Hungary – welcomed the joint Ukraine/United States declaration in their conclusions and called on Russia to show real political will to put an end to the war. “At European level, we support all types of sanctions, all types of actions that, in one way or another, serve to consolidate a ceasefire that leads to a just and lasting peace”, promised the Spanish Prime Minister, Pedro Sánchez, on his arrival at the European Council.
As EU leaders reiterated their ‘peace through strength’ approach and called on Member States to urgently step up efforts to meet Ukraine's pressing military and defence needs, Mr Zelensky said it was “crucial that your support for Ukraine doesn’t decrease but instead continues and grows. And this is especially true for air defence, military aid, and our overall resilience”.
He called for funding for artillery shells, saying that his “country is counting on European support in the amount of at least 5 billion euros as soon as possible”. He also called for joint work on Europe’s technological independence and for the ReArm Europe instrument, with which his country is associated, “to become operational as quickly as possible”.
“Ukrainians need weapons, in particular anti-aircraft systems and ammunition. But on the other hand, they also need money, pure and simple, to finance the production of their own defence industry, which has developed strongly”, stressed the Finnish Prime Minister, Petteri Orpo.
Welcoming those countries that are working with Ukraine on future security guarantees for his country, Mr Zelensky called on countries that have not yet done so to join the efforts. “And all of us must be as efficient as possible in this work on security guarantees – and as quick as possible”, he stressed. “The European Union and Member States are ready to contribute to security guarantees, in particular by supporting Ukraine’s ability to defend itself effectively, based on their respective competences and capabilities, in line with international law”, the European leaders replied in their conclusions.
Following the summit, French President Emmanuel Macron announced that a summit of the 'coalition of the willing' would be held in Paris on Thursday, March 27, likely to be attended by Volodymyr Zelensky.
Once again, the Ukrainian President called for additional sanctions on Russia, which “must remain in place until Russia starts withdrawing from our land and fully compensates for the damage caused by its aggression”. European leaders say they are ready to step up the pressure on Russia and stress that, “subject to EU law, Russia’s assets should remain immobilised until Russia ceases its war of aggression against Ukraine and compensates it for the damage caused by this war”.
Lastly, the Ukrainian President felt that a certain amount of pressure was needed within the European Union itself to ensure that everything that had been promised would come to fruition with regard to his country's accession to the EU. “It’s simply anti-European when one person blocks decisions that are important for the entire continent or that have already been agreed upon”, he denounced, not openly mentioning the Hungarian Prime Minister, Viktor Orbán. “The European Union will intensify support for Ukraine's reform efforts on its path towards EU membership”, promise the twenty-six Member States, who stress the importance of progress in the negotiating process in accordance with the “merit-based approach”, “opening clusters when the conditions are met, starting with the fundamentals cluster as soon as possible”.
On their respective arrivals at the Summit, the Lithuanian President, Gitanas Nausėda, proposed setting the target date for Ukraine's possible accession to the EU for 1 January 2030, while the Finnish Prime Minister, Petteri Orpo, felt that Ukraine should join the EU by 2030 at the latest.
See the conclusions: https://aeur.eu/f/g19 (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant with the editorial staff)