Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha, speaking at the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) meeting in Malta on Dec. 5, strongly opposed any agreements resembling past Yalta or Minsk deals that could legitimize Russian aggression.
The comments come as U.S. President-elect Donald Trump pledged to put a swift end to the war in Ukraine and bring both sides to the negotiating table.
"Russia wants a second Yalta or at least a third Minsk. It wants a world of zones of influence where power dictates the rules, changes borders, and deprives people of their right to freedom. But we are clear: there will be no Yalta-2 or Minsk-3," Sybiha said during a closed-door meeting.
This referenced the 1945 Yalta conference on dividing post-World War II spheres of power in Europe between the USSR and Western powers and the unsuccessful 2014-15 Minsk I and II agreements on ending the war in Donbas.
The minister accused Russia of using "peace plans" as a pretext to continue its aggression.
"We have seen what Russian peace means in Bucha, Mariupol, Izium. For them, it means mass graves, ruins of cities, and killed Ukrainian civilians. Ukrainian children are abducted, their names are changed, and they are forcibly assimilated into Russian culture," he said.
Sybiha added that Russia is not genuinely interested in negotiations, urging the international community to focus on Moscow’s actions rather than its words. "Russia continues to expand the war," he warned.
The OSCE meeting in Malta was also attended by Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, marking his first visit to the EU since the start of the full-scale war. Sybiha called Lavrov a war criminal and left the OSCE plenary hall in protest ahead of Lavrov’s address. Several other foreign ministers and diplomats followed suit in a coordinated walkout.
Oleg Sukhov
(Updated: )
