Ukraine rejects any peace mediation with Russia that does not rule out, from the outset, any territorial loss for Kyiv or a halt to the fighting, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said in Lisbon on Friday.
No peace plan or initiative, no mediation should imply any legal or real loss of Ukrainian territory, he said after a meeting with his Portuguese counterpart, Joao Gomes Cravinho.
No initiative, no mediation should be based on the premise that Ukraine should freeze the conflict and then see what happens, Kuleba added, speaking to reporters in English.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky met Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salmane in Jeddah on Friday and thanked him for supporting Ukraine’s sovereignty.
As far back as March 2022, a week after the start of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the Gulf monarchy’s de facto ruler had called for a “political solution” to the conflict and offered to mediate, in a phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
“Any mediation will have to lead to the full restoration of Ukraine’s territorial integrity,” Kyiv’s diplomatic chief stressed on Friday.
Mr. Kuleba travelled to Lisbon to attend the highly confidential Bilderberg meeting, which is being held this year in the Portuguese capital until Sunday.
Ukraine, Russia, NATO and transnational threats are among the topics for discussion at the private conference, which brings together European and North American political and economic figures to discuss global issues.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg and EU diplomatic chief Josep Borrel are also on the list of some 130 participants unveiled by the organisers.
