Ukraine Acknowledges Diplomatic Path for Returning Some Territories, But Firmly Rejects Concessions

The issue of territory was discussed during the Ukraine-US meeting in Jeddah, but using the term “territorial concessions” it’s not the right one to use, Ukrainian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Heorhii Tykhyi stated during a briefing on March 13.

“Ukraine made it clear that it will not recognize Russia’s rights over our territory,” Tykhyi said, adding that Ukraine will not accept any territorial concessions, but acknowledges that some of its territories will be returned diplomatically.

“If you’re asking whether Ukraine will accept that some of its land belongs to Russia, no, Ukraine will not accept this. If you’re talking about the reality that Ukraine cannot recover all of its territory right now by military force, yes, we understand this. And we understand that some of our land will need to be returned diplomatically.”

The spokesperson added that there were no such talks of Russia withdrawing from the Zaporizhzhia, Donetsk, and other regions that Russia illegally occupied. “There was no such talk,” Tykhyi said.