STRASBOURG — European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen warned on Wednesday that Russian President Vladimir Putin could launch wider attacks if Ukraine doesn’t get a peace agreement with Moscow on Kyiv’s own terms.
“The way the war ends will shape our continent for generations to come,” she said, referring to Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine that started in February 2022 . “A bad deal could encourage Putin to come back for more.”
During her address to the European Parliament to mark the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II in Europe, von der Leyen argued that any peace deal will only be permanent if it ensures Ukraine’s sovereignty, its territorial integrity and respects the country’s EU membership aspirations.
U.S. President Donald Trump has pressed both sides to end the war, though talks are stalling as Putin maintains his maximalist demands about Ukraine and rejects calls for a month-long ceasefire. Trump and other senior officials have indicated the U.S. could pull out of negotiations amid the stalemate.
“We have all seen how Russia negotiates. They bomb. They bully. They bury promises beneath rubble,” von der Leyen said in her speech.
To help Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy negotiate on his own terms, the Commission president said the EU needs to support the country’s defense industry by signing procurement deals with its industry, by cutting off all Russian gas imports and by continuing to move forward with Ukraine’s accession to the EU.
“In our history, peace and European integration have always gone hand in hand. So let us bring Ukraine inside our union. Let us walk the path of peace together,” von der Leyen said.
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