European Parliament opposes forcing Ukraine into "capitulation" under guise of peace agreement
The European Parliament has condemned any attempts to pressure Ukraine’s leadership into capitulation before Russia solely for the sake of announcing a so-called peace agreement.
The resolution "Continuing the unwavering EU support for Ukraine, after three years of Russia’s war of aggression" adopted on 12 March states that MEPs condemn any attempts to force Ukraine's leadership to a peace agreement through blackmail.
"The European Parliament … deplores any attempts at blackmailing Ukraine’s leadership into surrender to the Russian aggressor for the sole purpose of announcing a so-called ‘peace deal’," the resolution states.
The document also reads that the European Parliament "considers that the current attempts by the US administration to negotiate a ceasefire and peace agreement with Russia over the heads of Ukraine and other European states, in which the latter are confronted with the outcome without their meaningful participation, as counterproductive and dangerous, as it leads to empowering the belligerent state, thus showing that an aggressive policy is not punished but rewarded."
The MEPs stated that "taking into account the history of Russia’s violations of previous agreements and fundamental principles of international law, such a peace can only be reached through strength, including effective security guarantees".
While welcoming the proposal for a 30-day ceasefire, MEPs expressed hope that Russia would agree to it and halt its attacks on Ukraine.
The European Parliament also calls for significantly increasing EU support for Ukraine, including military aid, and welcomes the formation of a "coalition of the willing" led by European states to enforce the peace agreement and security guarantees.
Additionally, MEPs urged the European Union to accelerate Ukraine’s accession negotiations and called for the confiscation of Russian sovereign assets frozen under EU sanctions to be used for Ukraine’s defence and reconstruction.
Notably, 442 MEPs voted in favour of the resolution, 98 opposed it and 126 abstained.
On 11 March, the European Parliament inaugurated a reading space named after Ukrainian writer Victoria Amelina, who was killed in a Russian missile strike on Kramatorsk in 2023.