Ireland's Foreign Minister Helen McEntee has demanded that Europe's voice must be "front and centre" in any negotiations to end the war in Ukraine. As talks took place in Geneva on Sunday involving US, Ukrainian and European delegations, she warned it would be unacceptable for the EU to be sidelined in shaping a peace deal.
McEntee told RTE Radio One's This Week programme that this was an "absolutely critical moment" for Ukraine and European security. She pointed to recent Russian and Belarussian attacks on Poland's rail network and drone incursions in Lithuania as proof that the conflict's security implications extend far beyond Ukraine's borders.
"The EU has made it very clear any agreement has to include the European Union," McEntee said. "It has to include our institutions, any suggestion that there would be elements of a peace plan that discuss the EU, that discuss Nato, that discuss our future security, that wouldn't involve us, is not something that's going to be acceptable."
The urgency of securing a lasting peace agreement has intensified following recent violence. McEntee noted that 33 people, including children, were killed in Ukraine in recent days alone. "The fact that there are aggressions happening across the Ukrainian border into other EU member states means that this is a very critical moment," she said.
Conditions for Peace
McEntee laid out clear red lines for any potential agreement. "You cannot have a peace agreement where you have borders being changed by force," she stated. She insisted that Ukraine must receive credible security guarantees and cannot face limitations on its ability to defend itself in the future.
Taoiseach Micheal Martin will attend meetings in the coming days to reinforce Ireland's position. McEntee emphasized the goal: "A lasting peace, a just peace, and one that upholds Ukraine's sovereignty and their credible security into the future, that that is front and centre."
Note: This article was created with Artificial Intelligence (AI).
