Ukraine's new Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha did not discuss territorial compromises with Russia in recent meetings with his Western counterparts, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Heorhii Tykhyi said on Oct. 1, refuting a report by the Financial Times (FT) that he had discussed "potential compromise solutions."
"I attended every single meeting of Foreign Minister Sybiha in New York, and no territorial compromises were suggested, discussed, or even hinted at during any of the meetings," Tykhyi said.
"To the contrary, the Minister’s position is rock solid and he emphasized it behind closed doors," Tykhyi said. "There can be no compromise on Ukraine's sovereignty or territorial integrity."
Tykhyi's comments referred to an FT article on Oct. 1 that said Sybiha privately discussed potential compromises with Western counterparts during his trip to New York for the U.N. General Assembly last week.
The FT cited multiple European diplomats who attended the U.N. General Assembly.
The diplomats reportedly noted "more openness from Ukrainian officials to discuss the potential for agreeing a ceasefire even while Russian troops remain on their territory."
Sybiha allegedly "struck a more pragmatic tone on the possibility of land-for-security negotiations" than his predecessor Dmytro Kuleba, the FT said.
According to Tykhyi, the information from the FT's sources is "simply false" and leaves questions regarding "who would be interested in spreading such false narratives."
Jakub Parusinski
