"We are all united in our desire for a just and lasting peace, deserved by the people of Ukraine," Tusk and the leaders of Britain, Germany, France, Italy, Finland, Norway and Denmark said in a joint statement.
“We strongly support President Trump’s position that the fighting should stop immediately, and that the current line of contact should be the starting point of negotiations,” the statement said.
It added: “We remain committed to the principle that international borders must not be changed by force.”
The statement was also signed by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen and European Council head António Costa.
“Russia’s stalling tactics have shown time and time again that Ukraine is the only party serious about peace,” the leaders said. “We can all see that Putin continues to choose violence and destruction.”
The signatories said Ukraine “must be in the strongest possible position—before, during and after any ceasefire.”
“We must ramp up pressure on Russia’s economy and defense industry until Putin is ready to make peace,” they said, adding that they were developing measures to "use the full value of Russia’s immobilised sovereign assets so that Ukraine has the resources it needs."
The leaders said they would meet later this week at the European Council and in the Coalition of the Willing format to discuss next steps and further support for Kyiv.
Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022, starting the largest armed conflict in Europe since World War II.
Tuesday is day 1,336 of Russia's war on Ukraine.
(gs)
Source: PAP, presidentti.fi