By Francois Murphy
VIENNA, Dec 4 (Reuters) – Ukraine wants “real peace, not appeasement” with Russia, its foreign minister said on Thursday at the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, the security and rights body seeking a role for itself in a post-war Ukraine.
The path ahead for peace talks is currently unclear, U.S. President Donald Trump said on Wednesday, after what he called “reasonably good” talks between Russian President Vladimir Putin and U.S. envoys.
“We still remember the names of those who betrayed future generations in Munich. This should never be repeated again. Principles must be untouchable, and we need real peace, not appeasement,” Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said in a speech to the OSCE’s annual Ministerial Council.
He was apparently referring to a 1938 agreement with Nazi Germany in which Britain, France and Italy agreed to Hitler’s annexation of the Sudetenland in what was then Czechoslovakia. The agreement is widely used as shorthand for failing to confront a threatening power. Russia was due to speak later.
“Europe had too many unfair peace deals in the past. All of them only led to new catastrophes,” Sybiha said while thanking the United States for advancing peace efforts and pledging that Ukraine would “use every opportunity to try to end this war”.
Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Wednesday his team was preparing for meetings in the United States and that dialogue with Trump’s representatives will continue.
The OSCE, a 57-nation body that includes the United States, Canada, Russia and much of Europe and Central Asia, emerged as an important forum for east-west dialogue during the Cold War.
In recent years, it has often been deadlocked as Russia has blocked important deals, accusing the organisation of having been taken over by the West.
Now, the United States is blocking consensus on a new budget, demanding reforms such as cost-cutting measures, diplomats say.
(Reporting by Francois Murphy; Editing by Sharon Singleton)
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