Nordic, Baltic countries to support Ukraine's sovereignty

The Nordic-Baltic Eight nations have decided to support the Ukraine's sovereignty. A joint statement of these countries issued followed U.S. President Donald Trump's and Russian President Vladimir Putin's summit in Alaska, where the two leaders failed to agree to a ceasefire but reportedly discussed a plan to trade unoccupied Ukrainian lands for a peace deal. "We remain steadfast in our support to Ukraine and to efforts, including by President Trump, to end the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine," the joint statement reads. "To achieve a just and lasting peace the next step must be together with Ukraine. Only Ukraine can make decisions concerning its future." The Nordic-Baltic Eight is a regional bloc that consists of Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, and Sweden.

Joint Statement of the Leaders of the Nordic Baltic Eight on Ukrainehttps://t.co/YjQWsFeoVy pic.twitter.com/UhKJ9mclno

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"Experience has shown that Putin cannot be trusted," the statement says. "Ultimately it is Russia's responsibility to end its blatant violations of international law. Russia's aggression and imperialist ambitions are the root causes of this war." The Nordic-Baltic statement unequivocally labeled Russia as the aggressor and called for a ceasefire, "credible security guarantees," the release of Ukrainian children abducted by Russia, and commitments from Ukraine's allies to prevent future Russian attacks. It also insisted that Russia has no right to veto Ukraine's path to NATO or the European Union.

President Volodymyr Zelensky thanked the bloc for their support in a post on Telegram, saying Ukraine welcomed their "principled statement." "All of these points are important to achieve a truly sustainable and reliable peace," he wrote.