Harris says Ukraine should not cede territory to achieve peace

US Vice President Kamala Harris has slammed suggestions that Kyiv should cede territory for the sake of peace with Moscow as “dangerous and unacceptable.”

The Democratic presidential nominee spoke alongside Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy as she unleashed the veiled criticism of Republican candidate Donald Trump’s controversial push for Ukraine to quickly cut a deal to end the war.

“There are some in my country who would instead force Ukraine to give up large parts of its sovereign territory, who would demand that Ukraine accept neutrality and would require Ukraine to forego security relationships with other nations,” she said at a press conference in Washington.

“These proposals are the same of those of Putin. And let us be clear, they are not proposals for peace. Instead, they are proposals for surrender, which is dangerous and unacceptable.”

Her comments were a reminder of the high stakes for the war effort in this year’s election.

Trump has criticised US assistance for Ukraine, praised Russian President Vladimir Putin and blamed Zelenskyy for the ongoing bloodshed.

Trump said he will meet with Zelenskyy in New York on Friday after days of questions over whether the two leaders will sit down together.

He rejected Harris’ criticisms and insisted that he only wants to stop the “horror show that’s gone on.”

Asked if Ukraine should give up territory, Trump said “we’ll see what happens” and “we need peace.”

At the presser with Harris, Zelenskyy said a “lasting and just peace” was a top priority for Ukraine.

“Not a freezing, but real, real peace for us. So we need to keep sanctions against Russia strong and we need to use that proceeds from immobilized Russian assets to protect Ukraine, our people, our cities, our frontline from Russian evil. And of course, we must work hard to bring all Russian war criminals to justice,” he said.

Zelenskyy was in Washington to present the White House and Congress with his plans for reaching an endgame in the war by improving Ukraine’s chances on the battlefield and its eventual leverage at the negotiating table.

He’s pushing to lift restrictions on using long-range Western weapons to strike targets deeper inside Russian territory.

No movement on that issue was evident during Zelenskyy’s visit but President Joe Biden did announce billions of dollars more in missiles, drones, ammunition and other supplies.

And addressing the UN General Assembly on Thursday, EU Council President Charles Michel urged China to reconsider its support for Russia and “use its influence to ensure that the United Nations Charter is respected.”

ADVERTISEMENT

“The European Union supports and will continue supporting Ukraine as long as necessary, faithful to the promise of freedom and solidarity, committed to a just and durable global peace founded on the principles of the Charter of the United Nations,” he said.