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Vienna.- Ukrainian President, Volodymyr Zelensky, insisted this Monday in Austria that his country wants to "end the war" but will not accept the "ultimatums" that Russia has put forward in the negotiations so far, before traveling to the G7 summit in Canada, where he plans to meet with Donald Trump.
"We want to end the war, but not with ultimatums and not at the price of Ukraine's independence," Zelensky said at a joint press conference in Vienna with his Austrian counterpart, Alexander van der Bellen, in which he also referred to the issues he intends to address with the president of USA.
On the one hand, the Ukrainian president will again ask Trump to approve new, more forceful sanctions against Russia, since, in his opinion, they are the only way to force the Kremlin to declare a ceasefire of at least one month, as requested by Kyiv, Washington, and European allies to give impetus to peace negotiations.
Zelensky also pointed out that he will try to convince Trump to authorize the sale of the arms package that Ukraine wants to acquire from the United States, after, with the arrival of the current president, the sending of weapons as a donation to Kyiv has been interrupted. The Ukrainian president thanked Austria for its assistance and requested the country's mediation for the repatriation of thousands of Ukrainian children "kidnapped" by Russia.Austria Condemns Russia's Aggression Against Ukraine
The Austrian president, for his part, indicated that his country's military neutrality does not mean political indifference, condemned Russia's aggression against Ukraine, and expressed his country's support for Kyiv. "The daily images of horror force us to continue supporting Ukraine," said Van der Bellen, who appealed "once again to the rulers of the Kremlin: stop this war."You may be interested in: Zelensky fears Russia is deceiving Trump, who continues to get closer to the Kremlin
Austria does not provide military aid to Ukraine due to the country's neutrality, enshrined in the Constitution, but Van der Bellen recalled that Vienna has supported all European Union sanctions against Russia for the invasion and clearly supports the aggressed party. Van der Bellen thanked Ukraine for its resistance against Russian aggression and stated that this country "also fights for us". The Austrian leader stressed that "Ukrainians do not want to be Russian subjects" and that they defend freedom, the rule of law, and democracy against the violence and oppression represented by Moscow. Foreign Minister Beata Meinl-Reisinger signed a declaration of intent and a joint statement with her Ukrainian counterpart, Andrii Sybiha, to strengthen cooperation, especially in the areas of reconstruction and justice. Austria pledged to support war crimes investigations, EU civilian missions, demining, and to facilitate psychosocial and educational assistance to repatriated minors. Since the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Austria has provided about 327 million euros in humanitarian and financial aid to Ukraine, in addition to guarantees worth 500 million euros for reconstruction. Zelensky makes a brief stopover in Austria on his way to Canada to participate as a guest in the summit of the Group of Seven most developed countries (G7). The visit to Austria has been criticized by the ultranationalist opposition party FPÖ, the largest in parliament and considered close to Moscow. Its leader, Herbert Kickl, said that "Austria, as a neutral country, must act as a bridge and mediator, not as a party in a conflict".
