Norway Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide.
| Photo Credit: SUHASINI HAIDAR
U.S. President Donald Trump should not give away concessions on behalf of Ukraine before negotiating with Russian President Vladimir Putin, said Norwegian Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide. Mr. Trump is giving Russia a “boost” at a time when Moscow is facing economic problems and military losses due to the Ukraine war, Mr. Eide said.
The Norwegian Minister was in Delhi for the MEA’s annual Raisina Dialogue conference, where the U.S.’s role in negotiating a Russia-Ukraine ceasefire dominated discussions.
As U.S. and Russian officials prepare for another round of talks in Riyadh on Monday, External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar said at the conference that India has suggested to both Moscow and Kiev to conduct “direct talks” rather than negotiating through other countries.
In an interview with The Hindu, Mr. Eide said, “Most of the Russian economy is in trouble, and Russia was not in a good spot. And then Mr. Trump came in and started suggesting some concessions, to be given prior to negotiations.”
“It is important that Mr. Trump does not give away positions on behalf of Ukrainians that they don’t agree to,” he said in a reference to Mr. Trump’s comments on recognising Crimea as part of Russia and calling on Ukraine to “forget about” joining NATO.
“The war is between Russia and Ukraine. So ceasefire has to be owned by the Ukrainians and obviously, by the Russians,” Mr. Eide said. “The way the Americans have been playing this has given a new boost to Russia,” he added.
The U.S. has claimed a limited ceasefire is now in place with both Russia and Ukraine agreeing to avoid attacking each other’s energy and infrastructure installations. However, differences over the way forward persist. Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha, who held a meeting on the sidelines of the Raisina Dialogue with Mr. Jaishankar and many other Ministers, including Mr. Eide, has said Ukraine’s “red lines” include not ceding Ukrainian territory occupied by Russia formally, and not accepting curbs on their military power or foreign policy.
‘Time for diplomacy’
“Now is the time for diplomacy. We believe that with the help of U.S. President Trump we may have negotiations for a just and lasting peace, and we count on the support of the international community for an end to the war this year,” Mr. Sybiha said at the Raisina Dialogue. Senior Ukrainian diplomatic sources said that a negotiating team has already been officially formed, underlining Ukraine’s “serious approach toward peace”.
However, State Duma (Russian Parliament) member Vyacheslav Nikonov, who was present at the conference said that no talks could be held with Ukrainian negotiators at present, as Russia considers the Volodymyr Zelenskyy government, whose tenure has ended, “illegitimate”.
“Constitutionally, [President Zelenskyy] is not legitimate, and this makes a difference, because if Ukraine signs an agreement, but a future government says it won’t accept it, what will happen?” Mr. Nikonov said, speaking to The Hindu.
India has thus far rejected calls to criticise Russia for the war since the invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Speaking at the Raisina Dialogue, Mr. Jaishankar said that countries who had been unhappy with India’s position in the past were now more accepting of India’s “common-sense position”, and that India had told the Russian leadership that war would not resolve the issue, and told the Ukrainian leadership to speak directly to Russia.
“You have to talk you have to engage the other party. By lining up everybody else in the world other than the other party, you’re not going to get a solution, so we are not just for negotiations, but direct negotiations,” Mr. Jaishankar said at the conference, where 11 of the 20 Foreign Ministers gathered were from Europe.
In the past few weeks, Norway has taken a tough position on the Trump administration’s policy on Ukraine, particularly after the showdown at the White House between Mr. Trump and Mr. Zelenskyy. Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre has been more outspoken than other European leaders in standing with Mr. Zelenskyy.
“This is not like a football match where you pick a team. There’s an aggressor and there’s a victim of that aggression. In international law, it’s crystal clear who was the aggressor, and that’s Russia,” Mr. Eide said in the interview.
On Wednesday, Mr. Eide met with National Security Adviser Ajit Doval and said they had “discussed the many opportunities to develop bilateral relations, the war in Ukraine and the important role of India in the evolving geopolitical landscape”.
Published – March 22, 2025 12:38 am IST