Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky wants to visit the United Nations to address a high-level meeting of the 193-member General Assembly on the eve of Russia’s February 24 anniversary. foreign Ministry the official said on Friday.
In an interview with The Associated Press, First Deputy Foreign Minister Emin Dzhaparova cautioned that his arrival required several factors, first citing the military situation on the ground and a warning from Ukraine’s intelligence service that Russia “Planning a very serious attack in February.”
“Our president would like to come, he has the desire or the intention,” he said, “but it is still a question whether there will be a security situation that will allow him to come.”
If Zelensky does come to the UN, it will be only his second trip abroad ukraine since the invasion. He made a surprise visit to Washington on December 21 to meet with the President – his most important supporter in the war against Russia Joe Biden and members of Congress whom he thanked for their support and told that “against all odds” Ukraine was still standing.
Sergiy Kislitsya, Ukraine’s UN ambassador, said the General Assembly has already scheduled a high-level debate on the war on February 23, followed by a Security Council ministerial meeting on February 24.
Dzaparova said Ukraine would like to see the assembly approve one of the two resolutions Zelensky wants to see approved on the eve of the anniversary of the invasion.
He said Ukraine is consulting with its partners on 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 seek to prosecute crimes. shall establish a tribunal for Aggression, which would enable Russia to be held accountable for its unprovoked aggression.
“We have to work step by step,” Zhaparova said. “It is still a question of what will happen first. … I do believe that is something we will know very soon, in the nearest week or two.”
At the end of December, Foreign Minister of Ukraine Dmytro Kuleba told AP The government wanted a “peace” summit at the United Nations by the end of February, with Secretary-General António Guterres as mediator, but did not anticipate Russia attending. This would make it difficult to mediate or predict the end of a devastating war.
Ukraine’s ambassador, Kislitsya, said she does not think Russian President Vladimir Putin will allow anyone to attend the summit because it does not go with his plan that Russian territorial gains are non-negotiable.
Zhaparova said a summit is still under discussion and stressed that “this is not a negotiation.”
Dzhaparova said the summit would be a forum to discuss things Ukraine considers important on top of a 10-point peace proposal, including the release of all prisoners, a tribunal for those responsible for the Russian aggression, and security for Ukraine. Guarantee is also included.
“It’s about shaping the discourse,” she explained.
Zhaparova said that adopting a resolution or holding a summit does not mean that Ukraine is ready to sign a peace agreement or ceasefire. This means that “negotiations about peace, or an agreement on peace, can be started” only after a resolution or summit.
The former journalist and TV anchor, a Crimean Tatar whose parents left Crimea after Russia’s 2014 takeover and annexation of the strategic peninsula, said Ukraine needed political, economic and military support.
Politically, Zhaparova said, Russia has defied the UN Charter, which forbids the use of force against another country, and violates international law and should be isolated by the international community.
He said it was important to provide financial aid to Ukraine because its economy had suffered much more than Russia’s, and to provide weapons “to fight for peace”.
Zaparova said that the Ukrainian Armed Forces are highly motivated and are fighting to defend their land and people, “but the Russian military does not understand what they are fighting for.”
“We’re doing our best to win, but then at the end of the day, it’s still a question of what the end will be,” she said.
Zhaparova said Putin would not be satisfied if Ukraine lost, “and I am sure Russia will attack other countries in the near future.”
“It is not only about Ukraine, it is about a common goal to avoid further aggression,” she stressed. “If the war is not contained in Ukraine, the war will get bigger.”