February 17, 2025
Thank you, Mr. President, and thank you, Assistant Secretary-General Jenča, for your remarks.
Colleagues, the goal of the Minsk agreements was an end to the fighting and restoration of Ukraine’s control over its territory within its internationally recognized borders. Russia signed these agreements but never implemented any of the commitments it agreed to – not a single one. Not the Minsk Protocol, or the Minsk Package of Measures, not the scores of interventions negotiated by the Trilateral Contact Group.
These commitments included agreements on ceasefire, the withdrawal of “foreign military forces” from Ukraine’s sovereign territory, the disbanding of illegal armed groups in eastern Ukraine that received support from Russia, and the return of control of the Ukrainian side of the international border to Ukraine. Russia did none of these things.
Instead, Russia consistently and repeatedly worked to undermine the fundamental purpose of the Minsk agreements, escalated the fighting, and undermined international monitoring efforts.
As our Secretary of Defense stated last week at the Ukraine Defense Contact Group, we want a sovereign and prosperous Ukraine. But we must start by recognizing that returning to Ukraine’s pre-2014 borders is an unrealistic objective.
Chasing this illusionary goal will only prolong the war and cause more suffering.
A durable peace for Ukraine must include robust security guarantees to ensure that the war will not begin again.
This must not be Minsk 3.0.
Russia’s bluster about the Minsk agreements is a distraction from fundamental, undeniable facts: Ukraine is a sovereign, independent country, and Russia’s illegal war of conquest violates the UN Charter.
Russia must immediately end its war against Ukraine, which not only violates international law but was also a strategic error for Russia. The easy way out is through negotiations – now. If Russia instead chooses the hard way, it will incur greater and escalating costs to its economy and losses on the battlefield.
The United States, as President Trump has made clear, is committed to ending the carnage and restoring stability to Europe. Ukraine, Russia and our European partners need to be part of the conversation. We also call on other UN Member States to join us in seeking an end to this conflict.
And with that I thank you, Mr. President.