Tolkach: The issue of territory is painful for Ukrainians, just as the issue of Kosovo is for Serbia

The issue of territory is very painful for Ukrainians, like the issue of Kosovo is for Serbia, because territorial integrity is something from which we must always start, and Ukraine today is fighting for its territorial integrity and the inviolability of its borders, Ukrainian Ambassador to Serbia Volodymyr Tolkach said today.

“We are fighting for territorial integrity and the inviolability of borders. We cannot resolve the issue of territory without constitutional changes, without a referendum, and most Ukrainians, finding themselves in a difficult situation – without electricity, water, and heating – are not ready to give up their territories to the aggressor,” Tolkach told TV Prva, speaking about Donald Trump’s proposal to end the conflict, which implies that Ukraine would have to relinquish part of its territory.

Asked what a post-war agreement should look like, he replied that everyone must return to the “status quo”.

“We must return to the ‘status quo’, that is my personal opinion. To those borders that were recognized by all states, including the Russian Federation, in 1997. We allowed many compromises, we allowed Russia to keep its fleet in Crimea, and they constantly violated agreements. Violating agreements is a violation of the principles of international law,” Tolkach emphasized.

It is important, he noted, to stop the bloodshed.

“That is also what Trump wants. Today we are conducting negotiations, but most Ukrainians are not ready for territorial concessions,” Tolkach was clear.

The ambassador, who is concluding his mandate in Serbia, says that his task was to build friendly relations.

“We may like something or not, but we must work on building relations between two peoples who are extremely close. I believe that I fulfilled my obligations by providing an opportunity for our relations to develop. Relations cooled somewhat after the start of the war in 2014 and the annexation of Crimea, but since the beginning of the full-scale aggression of the Russian Federation in 2022, they have nevertheless grown somewhat closer, given that the goals of Russia have become clear both to the Serbian people and to the leadership, and those goals are certainly not the protection of the population, which Russia destroyed in eastern Ukraine, but the destruction of the state,” Tolkach said.

He expressed gratitude for the humanitarian aid that Serbia sent to Ukraine.

“Serbia has its own view of its place in the world and its own foreign policy. We may like that or not, but we must accept it as it is. However, the issue in which Serbia occupies one of the leading positions among the countries of the region is humanitarian aid to Ukraine. Without the help of our allies, including humanitarian assistance, it would be extremely difficult,” the Ambassador said.

He conveyed that today in Ukraine there is no electricity or heating and that Russia is doing everything on that front to destroy the energy infrastructure and leave Ukrainians without heating and electricity. Therefore, he adds, aid is necessary.

“We are extremely grateful for Serbia’s humanitarian assistance,” Ambassador Tolkach said.

Given that President Volodymyr Zelensky has said that Ukraine is ready to give up joining NATO if the US and the EU offer sufficiently strong security guarantees, and when asked what those guarantees are, Tolkach replied that the American leadership is ready to go so far as to dissuade Ukraine from joining NATO, noting that Ukrainians had not even thought about joining NATO until the Russian aggression began.

“The Russian side is trying to destroy our state. That is why we need security guarantees. We must and want to be in a common European home, with a unified security system. I believe that the Serbian people also want to live in a secure environment. Having an enemy like the one we have in the east, we strive to obtain concrete security guarantees. We do not want this to be Budapest Memorandum 2, which did not bring security guarantees. That is why we now want concrete security guarantees, which will be provided either by NATO or by European allies. It is important that they exist,” Tolkach said.

He added that today Ukraine’s friends are those countries in which democracy is developed.

“That is the EU, EU member states, countries that are candidates for EU membership, as well as the US, Canada, and Great Britain above all. These are all those who support us today, who support the principles for which we are fighting,” Ambassador Tolkach said.