Ironically Putin’s attack contributed more to the unity of Ukrainian society tha…

Ukrainians should decide for themselves when their country will be ready to negotiate with Russia. Calls by other countries or individual world politicians to Ukraine with a proposal to “cede part of its territory for the sake of peace” are unacceptable, said Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg in an interview with Ukrinform.

No one knows for sure what influences the thoughts of the Kremlin dictator, even the Chinese have only limited influence. At the same time, Schallenberg does not yet see Russia’s readiness to seriously participate in the negotiations.

“It must be remembered: no negotiations on Ukraine without Ukraine. It is up to the Ukrainian people to decide for themselves when they are ready to negotiate. In the end, there will be talks with Russia. Because we all want peace. But there can be no peace under dictatorship. There can be no peace that will be imposed by Russia or anyone else without taking into account the opinion of Ukraine. This is unacceptable,” the minister stressed and rejected sharply the calls of some Western politicians for Ukraine to give up the occupied territories, as well as partially sovereignty for the sake of peace.

“I consider such appeals absolutely unnecessary. Let’s imagine that we were attacked: Southern Styria or Burgenland was occupied by a foreign power, there was an attempt to destroy the federal government of Austria or to expel it from the country. And then we would be told: “Dear Austrians, why don’t you give up part of your territory for the sake of peace?” I consider such calls from the outside unacceptable,” he stressed.

According to the Austrian Foreign Minister, the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Ukraine is exclusively a matter for the Ukrainian people, who have been attacked and “demonstrate an incredible willingness to fight.”

He also explained why Putin can’t be allowed to get away with his violations of international law and UN charter. “What protects a medium-sized state like Austria is international law – a system in which even great powers, including nuclear powers, must abide by the rules. If we abandon this system or say that we no longer want to follow it, then we will no longer have a rules-based international order, but the law of the jungle. That would be extremely dangerous for us.”

Read the whole interview

@Ukraine_Report