There’ll be no Yalta-2 or Minsk-3 – Sybiha at OSCE Ministerial

That’s according to Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha, who spoke at the plenary session of the OSCE Ministerial Council in Malta on Thursday, an Ukrinform correspondent reports.

"Since the Second World War, Europe has not seen such a scale of atrocities, murder of civilians, kidnapping of children, execution of prisoners of war, and other horrible crimes. Moscow tries to justify all of this with the so-called “legitimate security concerns”. But my nation’s right to exist is not Russia’s legitimate security concern. My nation's choice of its own future is not Russia’s legitimate security concern. In fact, Russia itself is the biggest security concern for the world. For hundreds of years," Sybiha noted in his speech.

He also stressed that "when Russians say they want peace, they lie."

"They talk about negotiations only to divert attention from what they are really doing. Look at their actions, not their words. In reality, Russia continues to expand the war," the Ukrainian minister said.

He recalled Russia's terrorizing of the civilian population with constant missile and drone attacks, Russia's attempts to cause a nuclear disaster through systematic strikes on energy infrastructure and occupation of the Zaporizhzhia NPP, the use of weapons supplied from Iran and the DPRK and the deployment of North Korean troops, as well as Russia's launch of a medium-range ballistic missile at Ukraine.

"These actions demand strong responses. Peace through strength. Not appeasement. We must raise the cost of the war for the aggressor. We must force Moscow to accept a just peace. We must demonstrate strength and unity in the face of blackmail. Now is the time to defend our principles, not simply declare them," the Ukrainian Foreign Minister emphasized.

He added that the Budapest Memorandum " has shown the price of agreements at the cost of Ukraine". Against this background, he emphasized that "there will be no compromises on our territorial integrity, sovereignty, or future security".

"We saw the real Russian peace plan. We saw it in Bucha, Mariupol, Izyum, and other places. When the Russians say “peace” they mean murdered Ukrainian civilians, mass graves and cities razed to the ground. Ukrainian children sent to Russian families and given Russian names. Filtration, kill lists, forced Russification, and assimilation. We will never accept such a peace. Our peace plan is for Russia to get out of Ukraine and leave us alone. Entirely in accordance with the Helsinki Final Act," he said.

According to Sybiha, Russia "wants a second Yalta or at least a third Minsk."

"They want a world of zones of influence where the use of force dictates new rules and new borders. There will be no Yalta-2 or Minsk-3. Ukraine instead wants to win a just peace. And respect for principles for all. These are the two approaches to the future that are being decided right now in Ukraine. We need to act now to ensure that the future comes. We need to eliminate grey zones, because Russia turns them into zones of influence. Instead, we need geopolitical certainty on Ukraine as part of the Euro-Atlantic community," the minister emphasized.

As Ukrinform reported earlier, a two-day OSCE Ministerial Council kicked off in Malta on Thursday. The meeting is also attended by Sergei Lavrov, Foreign Minister of Russia, the aggressor state.