The Kremlin leader, Vladimir Putin, did not accept the peace proposals offered by U.S. President Donald Trump and instead intensified strikes on Ukraine.
This was stated by European Council President António Costa during a joint press conference on Monday in Helsinki with Finnish Prime Minister Petteri Orpo.
“President Zelensky immediately accepted President Trump’s proposal for a peace agreement—either in a bilateral or trilateral format—but over the past weeks we have seen that Putin, unfortunately, did not accept it. On the contrary, we see that Russia has intensified its strikes on Ukraine, destroying more infrastructure and killing more people,” Costa said.
He emphasized the importance of increasing international pressure on Russia to end the war.
Costa recalled that in recent months Europe has managed to “achieve stability” in its relations with the United States, including on trade, NATO defense issues, and matters concerning Ukraine.
An important development, he noted, is Washington’s expressed readiness to assist Ukraine and participate in establishing security guarantees for the country after a ceasefire to “ensure lasting peace in Ukraine.”
“To achieve lasting peace, we must increase pressure on Russia so that it comes to the negotiating table. This is what we are currently doing together with the U.S.—coordinating our work to synchronize sanctions, making them more effective and increasing pressure on Russia and Putin,” Costa added.
He personally thanked Finnish President Alexander Stubb for his role in establishing Europe’s relations with the Trump administration.
At the same time, he did not answer questions regarding the expected date of a meeting between European leaders and President Trump in Washington on new sanctions against Russia, nor about the composition of the delegation planning to attend the talks.
