Sybiha made the remarks at a joint press conference with his German counterpart Johann Wadephul in Kyiv, according to an Ukrinform correspondent.

“We are now at a point where efforts to bring peace closer can be accelerated. Diplomacy plays a key role in this. And Ukraine’s principled position is that true peace can be achieved only with the active participation of Europe at the negotiating table,” Sybiha said.

He added that, in this context, preparations for new sanctions measures are important.

“This concerns both the [Lindsey] Graham bill in the United States and the EU’s 22nd package of sanctions, which must be as strong as possible. And today Johann and I paid particular attention to another issue – a package of special anti-ballistic sanctions. These restrictions are intended to significantly weaken Russia’s ability to produce ballistic missiles. Today we discussed the elements of this package and steps toward implementing it,” the Minister said.

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Sybiha stressed the need to step up peace efforts, which are currently on hold, including through more active U.S. involvement.

“There should be no pauses, and the new active political and diplomatic season must focus first and foremost on how we can end this war. And there is one, practically the only, obstacle to this – Putin,” the Ukrainian Foreign Minister emphasized.

As reported by Ukrinform, German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul arrived in Kyiv on Saturday morning.