UNITED NATIONS — Ukraine’s president on Wednesday called on world leaders to support his country and not look for a “way out” instead of a “real, just peace,” more than two years after the pandemic. The War of Russia.
At a time when he faces mounting pressure from Western allies and some of his fellow Ukrainians to negotiate a ceasefire, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told the UN General Assembly that there is no alternative to the “peace formula” he presented two years ago. Among other things, he seeks the expulsion of all Russian troops from Ukraine and accountability for war crimes.
“Any parallel or alternative attempt to seek peace is in fact an attempt to find a way out rather than an end to the war,” he said.
“Don’t divide the world. Be united nations,” he pleaded. “And that will bring us peace.”
Russia has not yet had its turn to speak at the annual gathering of presidents, prime ministers, monarchs and other top officials of the assembly. Low-ranking Russian diplomats are occupying the country’s chairs in the vast chamber during Zelenskyy’s speech. Russian President Vladimir Putin is not attending the high-level meetings of the General Assembly this year.
The war in Ukraine has been the focus of the last two times that world leaders have gathered for the annual UN meeting. But this year, the war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza and the escalating developments along the Israeli-Lebanese border have taken up much of the spotlight.
Ukraine and Russia, which have one of the strongest armies in the world, are engaged in a fierce battle along a 1,000-kilometer front line.
The war began when Russia invaded in February 2022, killing tens of thousands of people. Russia has gained momentum in eastern Ukraine; Ukraine, meanwhile, surprised Russia by send troops across the border during a daring raid last month.
Zelenskyy argued at the UN Security Council on Tuesday that Russia “ be forced into peace“, and said there is no point in continuing peace talks with Putin.
In Moscow, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov responded on Wednesday that the Ukrainian president’s call for coercion was “a fatal mistake” and “a deep-rooted misunderstanding, which will of course inevitably have consequences for the regime in Kiev.”
Zelensky is expects a victory plan to be presented this week to US President Joe Biden.
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