LONDON — A cease-fire in Ukraine just isn’t enough for European officials, who want lasting peace within the region, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen told CNBC.
“We’re very clear we don’t want only a cease-fire and a frozen conflict in regions of Ukraine, because these regions will at all times be fragile. No investment will go there, and the conflict could [at] any time flare up again, as we now have learned since 2014. So it must be an actual peace,” von der Leyen said on the sidelines of a conference on reconstruction efforts for Ukraine.
Kyiv has been fighting a Russian attempt to totally invade the nation since February 2022. Territorial tensions with Moscow return to 2014, when Russia illegally annexed Crimea — which Kyiv considers a part of Ukraine.
Ukraine is within the early stages of its counteroffensive to recapture Russian-occupied territory within the south and east of the country. Military analysts argued that Kyiv is making small gains.
Peace talks appear to be elusive in the interim, with Western officials skeptical of the success prospects of international propositions, resembling the 12-point plan unveiled by Russia’s major trade partner China on the first-year anniversary of the conflict.
Beijing’s plan didn’t condemn Russia for its invasion, and it didn’t include Kyiv’s aim to regain Crimea.
Chatting with CNBC’s Steve Sedgwick, von der Leyen said China can nevertheless be an important player within the peace process.
“China is a everlasting member of the U.N., and this comes with responsibility. And China has influence on Russia, so we expect China to make use of this influence to persuade Russia to take a seat down on the negotiating table,” she said.
Her comments come as Western governments appear to be stepping up their efforts for the longer term reconstruction of Ukraine. U.K. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak on Wednesday announced loan guarantees price $3 billion over three years on the conference. The European Union on Tuesday said it would offer Ukraine with 50 billion euros ($54.58 billion) of aid between 2024 and 2027.
Von der Leyen said the two-day meeting in London was about governments coordinating their aid to Kyiv, but additionally about convincing private investors to hitch in.
“It’s getting the private sector to chip in,” she said, “We want that knowledge, we’d like that expertise and, after all, the financial firepower.”
Data from the World Bank and the European Commission released in March said that the associated fee of reconstruction in Ukraine could be about $411 billion. Nonetheless, that number preceded the devastating collapse of the Nova Kakhovka dam and ensuing floods earlier this month, and the associated fee only increases because the war drags on.
Ursula von der Leyen, European Commission President took part in a donnors conference for Ukraine in London.
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