House president Annita Demetriou on Tuesday said Europe cannot allow an “unjust peace” in Ukraine.

She commented following the conclusion of a video call of leaders of the European People’s Party (EPP), the centre-right European grouping to which she belongs, in light of Monday night’s meeting between European leaders and United States President Donald Trump on the Ukraine war at the White House.

“The unity of the European Union is our greatest strength and must be preserved. In Cyprus, we know firsthand what invasion and occupation mean. We have been experiencing it for more than 50 years,” she said.

As such, she added, “we condemned the Russian invasion from the very beginning and continue to support the achievement of a just and sustainable peace in Ukraine, with full respect for the principles and values of the EU”.

“We support an immediate ceasefire as a key element of the negotiation process and the continuation of efforts. At the same time, we insist on full respect for the territorial integrity of Ukraine and on the position that only Ukraine itself can decide on its future on issues of sovereignty and territorial integrity,” she said.

She added that EPP leaders had “reaffirmed” their common positions on the maintenance and strengthening of sanctions against Russia until the aggression ends, and “the need for an immediate ceasefire that will lead to a just and sustainable peace, not another ‘frozen’ conflict”.

Annita Demetriou at the EPP meeting

She said the leaders had also agreed on “political support from Ukraine to negotiate from a position of strength” and “accelerating its accession path” to the EU, “with a clear message that its future lies in Europe”.

“The talks in Alaska and Washington have opened a window for peace. It is our duty to ensure that the outcome is compatible with European principles and values,” she said.

The EPP leaders’ meeting was also attended by President Nikos Christodoulides, who, despite leaving Disy in 2022, is still a member of the wider European grouping.

He is set to hold further meetings with the Coalition of the Willing – a group of over 30 countries which have pledged strengthened support for Ukraine, and with the EU’s 26 other member states’ heads of government later in the day.

Monday night’s meeting in Washington DC came after Trump invited Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy to the White House following his meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska on Friday night, with the European leaders heading to Washington DC to present a united front to Trump over the matter of the war.

As such, Zelenskiy was joined at the White House by European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen, French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, Finnish President Alexander Stubb, Nato Secretary-General Mark Rutte, and British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer.