Ukraine should not be forced to give up territory as part of a peace deal, UN General Assembly President Annalena Baerbock has said, warning that rewarding aggression only fuels further war.

“You condemn an act of aggression, you do not reward it. Those who reward aggression will reap more war instead of peace,” she told Germany’s Funke media group in remarks published on Sunday.

Baerbock, who previously served as Germany’s foreign minister, added that accepting a Security Council member breaking the United Nation’s most fundamental rule would set a dangerous precedent, referring to the UN Charter’s prohibition on the use of force.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has demanded that Ukraine withdraw its forces from parts of the Donbass region still under Kiev’s control. In addition to the illegally annexed Crimean Peninsula, Russia declared the Ukrainian regions of Luhansk, Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson part of its territory.

The United States has also pressured Ukraine to make concessions, saying the war cannot end otherwise. Ukraine has so far refused.

Baerbock was cautious on the UN’s potential role in securing a ceasefire. “First, there must be a ceasefire and a peace agreement, then we can discuss how it can be enforced,” she said. “But for that, Russia would have to be willing to end the war first.”

Source: dpa.com