Ukraine has the right to make decisions on its territory and international borders “must not be changed by force”, Taoiseach Micheál Martin has said.
Mr Martin on Sunday repeated his call for a ceasefire after US president Donald Trump said he backed a “peace deal” that would put pressure on Ukraine to cede more land to Russia.
Mr Trump’s pivot away from calling for an immediate ceasefire followed a meeting with Russian president Vladimir Putin on Friday in Alaska and put him at odds with the view of Ukraine and the EU. His latest comments have caused some concern among European leaders as an outright peace deal could put pressure on Ukraine to cede more territory to Russia.
Mr Martin was speaking as a number of European leaders, including European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen, took the unprecedented step of agreeing to accompany Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy to Washington for his meeting with Mr Trump on Monday.
Leaders at a meeting of the so-called “coalition of the willing” on Sunday agreed Russia would face more sanctions and wider economic measures if it does not stop its bombardment of Ukraine.
Speaking after the video call meeting, Mr Martin said it is “essential that Ukraine is a full participant in any discussions regarding its future”.
He said he welcomed the fact Mr Zelenskiy would meet Mr Trump in Washington, together with other European leaders.
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“At today’s meeting, I stressed the need to recommit ourselves to the primacy of the UN Charter,” he said.
“For all our security, there must be respect for international law, including the principles of independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity. It will be up to Ukraine to make decisions on its territory. International borders must not be changed by force.”
The Taoiseach said Ukraine needs “strong, credible, long-term security guarantees”, which means sustained support from Europe and the United States as well as EU membership.
“Our joint efforts for peace should be combined with firm and co-ordinated pressure on Russia to agree to a ceasefire and engage seriously with negotiations on a just and lasting peace,” he said.
“We agreed today that sanctions and wider economic measures will be reinforced if Russia does not stop the killing.”
The Taoiseach also called for Russia to “urgently return Ukrainian children who they have abducted as well as prisoners of war and civilians being held unlawfully”.
The coalition of the willing is a group of more than 30 countries that have pledged to support Ukraine. Sunday’s meeting was the coalition’s second in four days. The video call followed conversations between European leaders and Mr Trump after his meeting with Mr Putin.
The meeting was kicked off by French president Emmanuel Macron, UK prime minister Keir Starmer, German chancellor Friedrich Merz and Mr Zelenskiy.
Leaders discussed the US-Russia summit in Alaska on Friday as well as Mr Zelenskiy’s upcoming meeting with Mr Trump. The coalition is also understood to have discussed ways to progress security guarantees and lasting peace for Ukraine.
