European Parliament: EU must take the lead in Ukraine peace talks

TALLINN – Pointing to the recent United States peace plan for Ukraine, the European Parliament is calling on the European Union and its member states to show decisiveness and take the lead at this geopolitically critical moment.

The resolution emphasizes that the European Union and its member states must continue to cooperate with the United States and other like-minded partners to ensure that peace negotiations are based on the principles of international law.

The parliament notes that any lasting peace agreement must be preceded by a ceasefire and be based on strong security guarantees for Ukraine from the European Union and the U.S. These guarantees must be equivalent to NATO's Article 5 and Article 42(7) of the Treaty on European Union to prevent any new aggression and to ensure an immediate response.

The Parliament recalls that the European Union will not recognize temporarily occupied Ukrainian territory as Russian. As any peace deal will profoundly affect Europe's security architecture, the parliament stresses that nothing should be decided about Ukraine without Ukraine, or about Europe without Europe.

The Parliament acknowledges the U.S. administration's efforts to end Russia's war of aggression but believes that the ambivalence in U.S. policy toward Ukraine undermines the prospects for lasting peace. No peace treaty may restrict Ukraine's right to defend its sovereignty, independence, and territorial integrity, nor leave Ukraine vulnerable to future attacks. Ukraine must be free to choose its own security and political alliances without a Russian veto.

In the Parliament's view, a peace treaty must oblige Russia to compensate Ukraine for all material and non-material damages it has caused. Furthermore, the European Union and its member states should immediately develop a legally and financially sound reparations loan for Ukraine, secured by frozen Russian assets. The fate and investment terms of these assets cannot be negotiated without the European Union's involvement.

The Parliament also opposes the lifting of any sanctions until peace negotiations are concluded and a peace treaty is in effect. If Russia refuses to engage in serious peace talks, the European Union must impose additional, robust sanctions on Moscow.

The resolution was passed in the plenary session with 401 votes in favor, 70 against, and 90 abstentions.