Archive – From the president of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenski. – Kay Nietfeld/dpa – Archive
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BRUSELAS, 19 (EUROPA PRESS)
The president of Ukraine, Volodimir Zelensky, asked this Tuesday for the support of the European Union to “push” Russia towards a “just peace” in 2025, ensuring that it is key to strengthen Ukraine and hit Moscow militarily and economically so that the Russian President Vladimir Putin agrees to a deal next year.
In an intervention by videoconference in the European Parliament coinciding with the thousand days of invasion, Zelensky has asked for the support of the EU with more sanctions and punishments for the Russian economy, in addition to allowing Russia to be attacked on its own territory, to achieve an agreement. to guarantee peace in Ukraine.
“I urge you not to forget how much Europe is capable of achieving. If we could prevent Europe’s way of life from falling, then surely we can push Russia towards a just peace. Peace is what we want most,” he said. stated the Ukrainian president, who has marked that next year, 2025, will be “the year of peace.”
In front of the European Parliament, he stressed that the recipe involves strengthening Ukraine to stop Putin who is focused on continuing military aggression. Thus, he recalled that the Russian president only understands the language of power and “does not value people or rules.”
“Every day is the best time to put more pressure on Russia. It is clear that without certain key factors, Russia will lack real motivation to engage in meaningful negotiations. Without fires in its ammunition depots on Russian territory, without disrupted military logistics, without Russian air bases destroyed, without their lost capacity to produce missiles and drones, and without their assets being confiscated,” he explained, pointing out the next actions he expects from the EU, in the midst of the debate on allowing kyiv to use long-range missiles. scope to hit Russia on its own territory.
MESSAGE TO THOSE WHO BELIEVE THEY CAN TAKE ADVANTAGE OF AGREEMENT WITH RUSSIA
Zelensky has sent a message to “some European leaders” who, in his opinion, are focused on winning elections “at the expense of Ukraine”, in what can be interpreted as a veiled message to the German Chancellor, Olaf Scholz, for his phone call to Putin last Friday. That is why he has insisted that more pressure must be put on Moscow to reestablish peace, against those who think they can “sell” Ukraine, Moldova, the Baltics or the Balkans “and gain something in return.”
In this way, he warned that “no one can enjoy calm waters in the middle of a storm” and has asked the EU to take all possible decisions to help end the war in Ukraine “in a fair and equitable manner.” “A thousand days of war is a tremendous challenge, a tremendous challenge. Ukraine is obliged to make next year the year of peace,” he stated.
At the beginning of the extraordinary session, the president of the European Parliament, Roberta Metsola, underlined Zelensky’s leadership in the face of Russian aggression, adding that it represents an “assault not only on Ukraine, but on the rules-based order” and on the European values of peace, democracy and freedom.
“That is what is at stake. And we know the sacrifice that the Ukrainian people are enduring, not only for them, but for all of us,” said the ‘popular’ Maltese, who highlighted that the European Parliament has led the support for kyiv and will defend a “real” peace based “on justice, dignity and the principle of ‘nothing about Ukraine without Ukraine’.”
CRITICISM OF SCHOLZ FOR HIS CALL TO PUTIN
Criticism of the German Chancellor has become more evident in the parliamentary groups, when the leader of the European People’s Party, the German Manfred Weber, has insisted that the EU must show leadership and allow the use of Western weapons to attack within its territory. Russian.
“Scholz said he would take all necessary steps. Please provide the Taurus systems that Ukraine needs,” he indicated, after the United States’ decision to allow the use of ATACMS has shifted the focus to member states such as France and Germany that They have similar systems. Weber has defended that peace must be achieved through “the strength” of kyiv and not through “concessions” to Russia, who he has said is an “imperialist power” that will not change its behavior.
For the leader of the Social Democrats in the European Parliament, Iratxe García, the war in Ukraine will be won with tanks, ammunition and air defenses, which is why she has criticized the “self-imposed red lines” by Europe in its support for kyiv, after warning of that if Ukraine falls, Putin’s “authoritarian and criminal” regime will not stop.
“It is about supporting Ukraine not only for as long as necessary but also supporting it with everything that is necessary,” the Spanish MEP stressed to ensure that we must put an end to the “defeatist” message that Ukraine cannot win in the battlefield.
Conservative spokesman Nicola Procaccini of Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s party has vindicated Ukraine’s courage in the face of Russia’s plans for a rapid invasion, saying its bravery has shown that the EU is a “community of destiny” and “not a treaty signed last century. “Peace on difficult terms is like feeding a crocodile and waiting for the last one to attack us,” he warned about an agreement on terms advantageous for Moscow to end the crisis.
For her part, the leader of the liberals, Valerie Hayer, has highlighted kyiv’s capacity for resistance when a thousand days have passed since the Russian aggression and has attacked Putin’s “allies” who are “hiding” behind the peace to “defend the law of the strongest”. Along the same lines, the spokesperson for the Greens, Terry Reintke, has stated that Putin does not respect international law and lives in times of empires, threatening those who want to live in peace and freedom in Europe. “It is a fantasy of a weak leader. We have to show him that Europe is united and strong,” he noted, adding that Trump’s election must spur European military aid to kyiv.
In front has been the far-right group of Patriots for Europe, whose spokesperson, the Hungarian MEP, Kinga Gal, has defended stopping an escalation of the conflict in Ukraine, after regretting that the EU strategy “has not helped to end the war “. In this sense, he has pointed to a diplomatic solution, for which Donald Trump’s victory in the United States improves the possibilities. “We have to focus on building peace before anything else,” said the deputy from Fidesz, the party of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán.
While the Left group has lamented the “ferocious” consequences of the Russian invasion, insisting that warlike rhetoric must be avoided and pressure must be increased on Russia and China so that the war ends with a “long and lasting” peace that respects international law and the law of the strongest does not prevail in Ukraine. “If this peace is negotiated, all actors involved have to respect the terms of the negotiation. Putin’s war calls into question international law,” added his spokesman, German MEP Martin Schirdewan.