KJF-2024: Ukraine needs security guarantees for any possible negotiations – Klimkin

To be able to negotiate with Russia, Ukraine needs to understand the clear security guarantees it can receive. According to these guarantees, Ukraine should have the support of NATO.

This opinion was expressed by the former Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Pavlo Klimkin during his speech at the fifth Kyiv Jewish Forum.

After the U.S. elections, Klimkin believes that Ukraine is in a state of uncertainty, a war of attrition, and needs to change its military and political strategy.

"We cannot exist without security guarantees. And the demilitarization zone (which is now being discussed as part of Trump's plan – ed.) is not a security guarantee. We are talking about how to prevent an immediate attack and monitor the situation," he emphasized.

As a former foreign minister, Klimkin recalled the experience of agreements with Russia within the Normandy format and the fact that Russia did not comply with these agreements.

"I agreed on a possible ceasefire with the Russians in the Normandy format. And the Russians violated all the agreements. Therefore, the main point of any discussion is what kind of security guarantees Ukraine will receive," the former minister said.

Klimkin believes that it is impossible to end the war in the long term without a NATO flag over Ukraine, as this is the only way to stop Putin.

"I can imagine a certain transitional set of guarantees. It could be European troops – ideally NATO troops, but at least European troops in Ukraine, stationed along the touch line, also supported by bilateral security guarantees, US security guarantees," he added.

This year's Kyiv Jewish Forum, organized by the Jewish Confederation of Ukraine and The Jerusalem Post, is dedicated to the confrontation with the axis of evil of Russia, Iran and North Korea and the issue of eliminating the threat of rising anti-Semitism around the world.

The media partners of KJF-2024 are NV, Oboz.ua, RBC-Ukraine, Telegraf.ua, Inter.

Let’s recall that during the opening of the forum, JCU President and Vice President of the World Jewish Congress Boris Lozhkin emphasized that Ukrainians and Israelis have high hopes for the return of the U.S. administration that has previously demonstrated its determination to help both Ukraine and Israel.