Ukraine "Welcomes US-Russia Summit Plans... Expects Agreement on Troop Withdrawal"

Dmytro Kuleba, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Chunhee Lee] Ukraine has expressed its welcome for the US and Russia's efforts to hold a summit to resolve the Ukraine crisis.

Dmytro Kuleba, Ukraine's Minister of Foreign Affairs, said on the 21st (local time) ahead of the European Union (EU) foreign ministers' meeting held in Brussels, Belgium, "We welcome this plan" and "I believe all efforts aimed at a diplomatic solution are worth trying." He added, "I hope the two presidents agree on Russia withdrawing its troops from Ukraine."

Earlier, the French presidential office announced that President Emmanuel Macron proposed holding a US-Russia summit to US President Joe Biden and Russian President Vladimir Putin, and both the US and Russia accepted the proposal.

However, Ukraine reaffirmed its intention to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), which is considered one of the causes of the Ukraine crisis. This effectively rejects Russia's demand to block Ukraine's NATO membership attempt, which Russia views as a security threat.

In an interview with the US CBS program '60 Minutes' aired the previous day, Minister Kuleba said, "Ukraine hopes to become a NATO member," and added, "The only signal we send to the world is that if Ukraine succeeds and Russia withdraws, the entire democratic world will be much safer."

He further stated that while the US has not pressured Ukraine to abandon NATO membership, "some European member states have pressured us to give it up."

He also emphasized that Russia's invasion of Ukraine would cause significant damage to Russia as well. Minister Kuleba said, "Economic sanctions will immediately halt Russia, and we are not a country to give up militarily," adding, "We will defend our territory."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.