Ukrainian Ambassador to the United States Oksana Markarova welcomed news of talks with Russia as a possible way to end the Russian invasion of Ukraine, but added that her home country was not “not ready to surrender”.
Markarova said in an interview with ABC News on Sunday that Ukraine has always been focused on using diplomacy to resolve the Russia-Ukraine conflict in response to news that Ukraine has agreed to meet with Russian negotiators on the Ukrainian-Belarusian border.
“Our president, from the beginning, even before the start of the war, always focused – focused on the diplomatic solution,” Markarova said. “And even after the war started, he was always calling for peace talks, but he always said, we’re ready for peace talks, we’re not ready to surrender,” she said. declared.
Markarova also called on the West to offer more military aid to the Ukrainian army and pushed the United States and its allies to impose new sanctions on Russia. Markarova also called on US companies to consider divesting from Russian companies and financial institutions.
“We are grateful for everything that is already here and that is about to come, and we need more because we are defending our country against a very powerful enemy. We also need sanctions, more sanctions, and we need Russia to clearly see this and feel that it is not acceptable in the 21st century, to attack another country, a sovereign country for no reason,” Markarova said.
“And I would also like to take this opportunity to appeal to American companies,” Markarova added. “I think it’s time to think about saving reputations and not cooperating with a regime that will end up in The Hague for everything it has done and is doing now to Ukraine,” referring at the International Court of Justice where alleged war crimes are heard,” she said.
context: On Saturday, the White House, alongside the European Commission and other allies, announced its intention to expel certain Russian banks from the SWIFT international banking network and to target the Russian Central Bank with severe sanctions.
Markarvoa also gave an update on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s safety, saying he is “as safe as our country”.
“He is as safe as our country, and that is the choice he made to stay in Kyiv, to stay in Ukraine and to lead the nation at this very difficult time,” Markarova said.