Stop the war in Ukraine!

Former president Milan Kučan and many other prominent names are calling on countries to end the war in Ukraine.

Several prominent politicians, intellectuals and artists called on the EU, NATO, the United States of America and the Russian Federation to end the war in Ukraine in a public letter signed by former President Milan Kučan .

We publish the public letter in its entirety.

Stop the war in Ukraine!

A year has passed since the beginning of the Russian aggression against Ukraine. We fully support Ukraine in its indisputable right to self-defense. Ukraine is a victim of Russian aggression, which cannot be justified. The war has already claimed hundreds of thousands of dead, two-thirds of them on the Ukrainian side. Ukraine is becoming a devastated country.

European statesmen, just like in the First World War, are surrendering to the trend leading to a possible new world war. The German foreign minister says we are at war with Russia. The chairman of the NATO military committee assures that the group of countries under the leadership of the United States is ready for a direct confrontation with Russia. At the same time, the US president estimates that the war in Ukraine means a direct threat of atomic “armageddon”. The ominous rumor of an atomic threat is heard from Moscow.

Ukraine is the victim of a proxy war between the two leading nuclear powers, Russia and the United States, over areas of influence. Once they were both on the right side of history.

Heavy offensive tanks on the Ukrainian-Russian front further open the danger of a direct confrontation between Russia and the West on our, European soil. The guesswork of military experts that an atomic war is most likely not going to happen is no security guarantee.

But the accumulation of the deadliest weapons will not bring peace and stability to Europe. We are all losers in this war. Even EU citizens, who are also paying for this war and its consequences. Future generations of Europeans will bear the burden of the war. Therefore, European countries must also participate in the decision to end the war.

We request the governments of EU countries to establish a new, long-term European security architecture, which will be an expression of the strategic interests of European countries for their more active role in the world. It must be based on sovereignty, equality and taking into account the security interests of all countries. Even Russia, which remains, in one way or another, a neighbor of the EU in the future.

We call on the governments of the EU, NATO and the Russian Federation to build on the European Eastern policy of former German Chancellor Willy Brandt, which brought decades of peace to our continent. To commit to updating and respecting the Helsinki Charter on Peace and Cooperation.

The political talk of losers and winners is at odds with the talk of peace. No side can win this war. It can only be concluded at the negotiating table. Negotiating does not mean capitulating or justifying Russian aggression. Negotiating means responsibly looking for solutions and agreeing to compromises on both sides with the aim of preventing more deaths and the escalation of evil.

We therefore expect you, the governments of the countries of the European Union, NATO, the United States of America and the Russian Federation, to establish an alliance to stop the fighting, to stop further armaments and to start negotiations. The world of the future, peace, security and defiance of climate change is also your responsibility! It is the life of our children and their descendants in a world without fear, in a world that will ensure the existence of humanity.

The governments of the countries of the European Union, NATO, the United States of America and the Russian Federation do not have a mandate for war! Do not lead her to the doorsteps of our homes!

Stop the war! Stop her now! You have that power. And that responsibility!