Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy wants to visit the UN to address a high-level meeting of the 193-member General Assembly on the eve of the first anniversary of Russia’s Feb. 24 invasion of his country if the security situation permits, a senior Ukrainian official said on Friday.
Ukrainian First Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Emine Dzhaparova said in an interview that many factors need to be in place for Zelenskiy to travel, citing first and foremost the military situation on the ground and a warning from Ukraine’s intelligence service that Russia is planning “a very serious offensive in February.”
“Our president would want to come, he has a will or intention to come, but it’s still a question if there will be a security situation that will allow him to come,” Dzhaparova said.
Photo: Reuters
If Zelenskiy does travel to the UN, it would be only his second trip outside Ukraine since the invasion. He made a visit to Washington on Dec. 21 to meet US President Joe Biden and members of the US Congress, whom he thanked for their support and told that “against all odds,” Ukraine still stands.
Ukrainian Ambassador to the UN Sergiy Kyslytsya said that the General Assembly has already scheduled a high-level debate on the war on Feb. 23, which would be followed by a ministerial meeting of the Security Council on Feb. 24.
Dzhaparova said Ukraine would like to see the assembly adopt one of the two resolutions that Zelenskiy wants to see approved on the eve of the anniversary of the invasion.
She said Ukraine is consulting with its partners on the two measures, one that would support the president’s 10-point peace formula that includes the restoration of Ukraine’s territorial integrity and the withdrawal of Russian forces, and the other that would establish a tribunal to prosecute crimes of aggression, which would enable Russia to be held accountable for its invasion.
“We have to act step by step,” Dzhaparova said. “It’s still a question what will be the first... I believe that this is something that we will know very soon, in the nearest week or two.”
Late last month, Ukrainian Minister of Foreign Affairs Dmytro Kuleba told reporters that Kyiv wanted a “peace” summit by the end of net month at the UN, with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres as mediator, but he did not anticipate Russia taking part.
That would make it difficult to foresee mediation or an end to the devastating war.
Kyslytsya said he does not think that Russian President Vladimir Putin would allow anyone to attend a summit because it does not go along with his plan that Russian territorial gains are non-negotiable.
Dzhaparova said that a summit would not be a negotiation.
It would be a platform to discuss things that Ukraine considers important on top of the 10-point peace proposal, which also includes the release of all prisoners, a tribunal for those responsible for the Russian aggression and security guarantees for Ukraine, she said.
Only after a resolution or summit “negotiation about peace, or the agreement on peace, might be started,” she said.
Dzhaparova said it is crucial to provide financial support to Ukraine, because its economy has suffered much more than Russia’s, and to provide weapons “to fight for peace.”
The Ukrainian armed forces are highly motivated and are fighting to protect their land and people, “but the Russian army doesn’t understand what they’re fighting for,” Dzhaparova added.
“We are doing our best to win, but then at the end of the day, it’s still a question of what will be the end,” she said.
If Ukraine were to lose, Putin would not be satisfied “and I’m sure that Russia would attack other countries in the nearest future,” Dzhaparova said.
“This is not about Ukraine solely, it’s about a common goal to avoid further aggression,” she said. “If the war is not contained in Ukraine, the war will become bigger.”
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