Ukrainian troops, as well as the ordinary citizens of the country – and many people in the West – are growing increasingly tired of the Ukraine conflict, Estonian President Alar Karis has acknowledged, in an interview with state media ERR.
Asked by a journalist to comment on what can be done to curb the spread of ‘war weariness’ that has been plaguing the West, the president suggested that Kiev needed even more support from its foreign backers.
“There is weariness. Those who are on the front lines are weary, as are those further back and those for whom it is nowhere in sight,” he said. “The only way we can help is by giving Ukraine even more support to facilitate success, which in turn is encouraging.”
Karis stressed that, although new conflicts continue to pop up around the world, the West’s current task must be to keep the focus on Ukraine.
He was also asked to comment on the end goal of continued support for Ukraine, with the ERR journalist noting that no one in the West has yet been able to define what a victory for Kiev would look like.
“If we cannot define a victory,” the president replied, “let us talk about Russia’s defeat.” He argued that Ukraine must be given enough support so that there is a “reason to get behind the negotiating table and discuss peace.”
“In the current conditions of attrition warfare and Russian attempts to dictate terms, there’s no point sitting down to talk at all,” Karis said.
Moscow has repeatedly stressed that it has remained open to peace talks with Kiev. However, Russian officials have insisted that such negotiations can only be held with respect to the realities on the ground and cannot be based on Ukraine’s “ephemeral” demands.
Russian President Vladimir Putin also stated this summer that Moscow would have been prepared to sit down with Kiev immediately if it had fulfilled a set of conditions, including renouncing its bid to join NATO and pulling Ukraine’s troops out of all territories that Moscow claims under Russian sovereignty.
However, following Kiev’s incursion into Russia’s Kursk Region last month, Moscow said it currently sees no reason to hold peace negotiations with Ukraine.