Taoiseach Simon Harris said President Vladimir Putin is in “no position” to call to make demands of Ukraine ahead of a summit aiming to restore peace in the region.
Mr Harris is among several world leaders attending the Peace Summit for Ukraine this weekend in Switzerland.
Some 100 delegations including European bodies and the United Nations will discuss and develop plans for the first steps towards peace in Ukraine.
It comes after Mr Putin said Russia would end the war if Ukraine drops its NATO ambitions, hands over four provinces claimed by Moscow and carries out demilitarisation.
“We will do it immediately,” he said. “Obviously, we will guarantee the uninterrupted and safe withdrawal of Ukrainian forces."
I arrived in Switzerland for the Global Peace Summit. There will be two days of active work with countries from all parts of the world, with different nations that are nonetheless united by a common goal of bringing a just and lasting peace in Ukraine closer.
The Peace Summit… pic.twitter.com/DhS54e1Xk0
— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) June 14, 2024
Mr Harris said the Russian president is in “no position to be placing preconditions on peace”.
“This war must end, and it is so important that the world comes together this weekend to speak with one voice,” he said.
“Russia's brutal, illegal invasion of Ukraine needs to end - there needs to be respect for international law, for territorial integrity, for democracy and freedom.”
Ukrainian MP Kira Rudik also said Mr Putin’s demands were ‘absurd’.
“He claims that in [the] 21st century, one country can annex the territory of another one, commit all kinds of war crimes, and then just attempt to get away with it and say that it is normal,” she said.
“We will never accept that.”
Peace summit for Ukraine
China will not attend the summit after Moscow was frozen out for dismissing the event as 'a waste of time'.
US Vice President Kamala Harris will attend the conference, along with Turkish and Saudi Arabian foreign ministers.
Brazil will attend as an observer while India and South Africa will be represented at lower levels.
Ukraine maintains its ambitions to join NATO, while the alliance has continued to support the country’s “inherent right to self-defence, and its right to choose its own security arrangements”.
EU ambassadors have agreed to formally begin accession negotiations with Ukraine and Moldova to join the union later this month.
