President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that Ukraine has the right to a real and lasting peace, not a temporary pause in the war unleashed by Russia.
The Head of State said this during a speech at the 76th session of the Nordic Council of Europe, which took place in Iceland, Suspilne reports.
Our strong people deserve generations of time to live, develop our culture and freely share with the world what makes Ukraine unique. Not a temporary pause from the horror unleashed by Russia, Putin and their aggression, not a few years of calm before the next Russian invasion, and certainly not a lifetime subject to the will of some madmen in the Kremlin, – Zelenskyy said in his address to the participants.
According to the president, Ukraine “has not wasted a single day” in its efforts to bring peace closer.
Tomorrow, a special conference on one of the most sensitive issues of our ‘peace formula’ will begin in Canada. The Ukrainian team and many of our partners will work on the issue of the return of Ukrainian children. This is one of the most painful aspects of this terrible war. We are talking about tens of thousands of children who were abducted by Russia from the occupied territories of Ukraine. Forcibly transferring children from one nation to another and erasing their identity is definitely a practice of genocide. Russia has been doing this since the beginning of the invasion, – he said.
Zelenskyy noted that “wars often leave monuments to unknown soldiers”. He also urged the participants of the session not to “leave a monument to the stolen future of Ukrainian children”.
This is one of the many reasons why this war cannot simply end in silence on the front line after backroom discussions and private agreements of a handful of politicians. We must return deported and captured people to Ukraine. We must restore justice for the millions whose cities and villages were destroyed by Russian bombs. We must prevent the return of Russian aggression, and this requires the full restoration of the force of international law and the UN Charter. We must protect the sovereignty of Ukraine and our territorial integrity, the safety of our people and our right to live freely, like your people, like any other people, – the President emphasized.
The Head of State emphasized that effective sanctions against Russia, stopping the shadow tanker fleet of Russia, repulsing aggression and providing all necessary weapons to the Armed Forces of Ukraine are the instruments of true peace.
These are all tools that bring true peace closer, and I ask you to continue to build all the necessary joint and national production that ensures freedom, air defense, weapons, microchips, all of this matters. We must work well on our cooperation in Europe and the Euro-Atlantic region, unity is crucial. Unity keeps the peace in Europe. And that is why Ukraine wants to be a part of this unity, – Zelenskyy said.
In his speech, the President of Ukraine also emphasized that Ukraine has the right to a true and lasting peace and noted that the support for Ukraine from the Nordic countries is one of the largest.
Our people, our nation, deserves to join the EU and NATO. And I am grateful to your countries for supporting us on this path to geopolitical certainty. And please remember that in wartime, every decision made by a partner country of a state under attack is, first and foremost, a decision about time. Time, how long the war will last, how long the injustice will last, how long there will be no real lasting peace. Let your decisions end the war and bring a real lasting peace, not a temporary illusion, – Zelenskyy summarized.
On October 28, Zelenskyy made his first working visit to Iceland to participate in a summit with Nordic leaders.
