 "US urges Ukraine and Russia to support peace plan as UN votes on conflict resolution")
US on Monday called on Ukraine and Russia to back its plan to end the war in Ukraine as the UN General Assembly prepared to vote on a US resolution marking three years of conflict.
“The draft resolution submitted by the United States makes this very point. Our draft implores a swift end to the conflict, and further urges a lasting peace between Ukraine and Russia. This is what is needed now, and we urge all member states, including Ukraine and Russia, to join us in this effort,” AFP quoted Dorothy Shea, US ambassador to the UN, as saying.
Ukraine told UN members that no country would be safe if “aggression is justified”.
“If aggression is justified and a victim is blamed for its resilience and will to survive, then no country is safe,” AFP quoted Mariana Betsa, Ukraine’s deputy foreign minister, as saying.
Meanwhile, during an address through video link to the leaders of G7 countries, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Ukraine and the US were working productively on an economic deal at the centre of an effort to end Russia’s war on Ukraine.
The meeting, which was also attended by US President Donald Trump, saw Zelenskyy reiterating his demand for both Europe and Ukraine to be involved in a peace process.
Earlier on Monday as European leaders gathered for a summit in Kyiv on the third anniversary of Russia’s invasion, Zelenskyy called for “real, lasting peace” this year.
Russia said it would halt the invasion only if a deal could be reached that “suits” its interests, and accused Europe of wanting to prolong the fighting.
Impact Shorts
More ShortsRussian President Vladimir Putin’s decision to launch the invasion in February 2022 set off the biggest conflict in Europe since World War II.
Tens of thousands of soldiers on both sides and Ukrainian civilians have been killed. Cities across the country’s south and east have been flattened and millions forced to flee their homes.
“This year should be the year of the beginning of a real, lasting peace,” AFP quoted Zelenskyy as telling Ukraine’s backers in Kyiv.
“We have to win peace through strength and wisdom and unity,” he said, vowing at a press conference on Monday that Russia “will not win”.
EU Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen also warned that despite opening talks with the United States on how to end the conflict, Putin was not about to back down.
“Putin is trying harder than ever to win this war on the ground. His goal remains Ukraine’s capitulation,” she said.
She also called the war in Ukraine “the most central and consequential crisis for Europe’s future”.
With inputs from agencies
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