Putin 'never wants' peace, Georgia's Zourabichvili tells Euronews

Euronews · Feb 19, 2026 · Collected from RSS

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Published on 19/02/2026 - 9:35 GMT+1•Updated 11:26 Georgia's former President Salomé Zourabichvili said Washington could play a key role in ending Russia's war in Ukraine, with US President Donald Trump potentially forcing Russian President Vladimir Putin's hand into a peace agreement. "The uncertainty that Putin is experiencing with Trump's actions is the best ally for forcing him down to a peace agreement," Zourabichvili told Euronews' Europe Today morning show on Thursday. She described the current moment as the "best time we have to have Russia recognise that somebody is both as unpredictable and as strong" as Moscow. Zourabichvili, who served as Georgia's president from 2018 until her disputed departure in December 2024, said Putin "is never interested in peace, he has to be brought to peace by constraint". She said the war in Ukraine "will come to an end one day" but warned it was "important how it comes to an end, because as neighbours of Russia we all know it has been a constant invader, aggressor and imperialist power that doesn't know where borders stop". Respecting Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity was essential, as was Russia recognising it "cannot occupy the territory of neighbours," she said. Georgia was plunged into a political crisis after the opposition-disputed October 2024 parliamentary elections triggered mass anti-government protests. Zourabichvili said "everything that is happening in Georgia today is distancing" the country from "the European path and the European reforms". The country was granted candidate status in December 2023 on condition that it pursued several reforms, but the process has since stalled. The process is now "in very thick ice," according to Zourabichvili.