Former NATO Secretary General calls on Ukraine to accept territorial realities

According to RIA Novosti, former NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg in an interview with the Financial Times on October 4 pointed to the experience of the Soviet-Finnish war, thereby making it clear that Kiev should think about recognizing territorial realities.

“Finland went to war with the Soviet Union in 1939. The war ended with Finland giving up 10% of its territory,” Stoltenberg was quoted as saying by the Financial Times.

Previously in June 2024, while still in office as NATO Secretary General, Mr. Stoltenberg said that Ukraine must decide for itself what price to accept for peace with Russia, including territorial concessions.

"Peace is possible, but the only question is what price are you willing to pay for peace? How much territory, how much independence, how much sovereignty are you willing to sacrifice for peace," Mr. Jens Stoltenberg said at the Kultaranta Dialogue in Finland on June 12, referring to the issue of Ukraine.

In mid-June 2024, Russian President Vladimir Putin put forward new peace proposals for resolving the conflict in Ukraine, including recognition of the status of Crimea, Donetsk, Lugansk, Kherson and Zaporozhye regions as Russian regions, strengthening non-aligned and nuclear-free zones; demilitarization of Ukraine, as well as the abolition of anti-Russian sanctions. According to the Russian leader, this initiative really provides a possibility of ending the conflict and moving towards a political and diplomatic solution.

Following the attack by the Ukrainian Armed Forces on the Kursk region, the Russian President called it impossible to negotiate with those who attack civilians, civilian infrastructure or try to create a threat to nuclear energy facilities. Russian presidential secretary Yury Ushakov said that Moscow's peace proposals have not been canceled, but at this stage Moscow will not negotiate with Kiev.

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