UNITED NATIONS (AP) ā Ukraineās president dismissed the notion of peace talks with Moscow on Tuesday, calling instead for unspecified global āactionā to force Russia into peace for invading his country and to comply with the U.N. Charterās requirement that every country respect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all other nations.
told the U.N. Security Council that Russian President Vladimir Putin is committing āan international crimeā and has broken so many international rules that he wonāt stop on his own.
āAnd thatās why this war canāt simply fade away. Thatās why this war canāt be calmed by talks,ā Zelenskyy said at a meeting on the sidelines of the annual gathering of world leaders at the āRussia can only be forced into peace, and that is exactly whatās needed ā as the sole aggressor in this war, the sole violator of the U.N. Charter.ā
The high-level meeting on the more than 2 1/2-year war in Ukraine was attended by ministers from 14 of the council's 15 member nations. Russia chose to send its lower-level U.N. ambassador.
Vassily Nebenzia opened the meeting protesting that Zelenskyy was being given the U.N. spotlight again. He also criticized Slovenia ā which holds the rotating council presidency this month ā for allowing the Ukrainian leader's "chorusā to speak. He meant about 10 European Union and NATO members who arenāt on the council but march āin lockstepā every time they come to the council āto malign the Russian Federation.ā
āWhen it comes to listening to these hackneyed statements, and these cookie-cutter statements, we have no intention of wasting time on that,ā Nebenzia said.
Ukraine's sovereignty is defended
U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres briefed the council, reiterating the United Nationsā strong support for Ukraineās sovereignty and territorial integrity under the U.N. Charter.
āRussiaās full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 ā following the illegal annexation of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and city of Sevastopol a decade ago ā is a clear violation of these principles,ā the U.N. chief said.
Zelenskyy said Ukraine knows some countries want to talk to Putin. But, he asked, āWhat could they possibly hear from him ā that heās upset because we are exercising our right to defend our people, or that he wants to keep the war and terror going just so no one thinks he was wrong?ā
China has repeatedly called for talks between Ukraine and Russia. Its foreign minister, Wang Yi, told the council that the suffering and destruction and increasing volatility in the region "must be turned around.ā
Wang stressed that Chinese President Xi Jinping believes āthe sovereignty and territorial integrity of all countries should be respected.ā China is pursuing peace talks and conducting shuttle diplomacy, Wang said, and its efforts have received wide international support. He pointed to a joint China-Brazil peace plan issued earlier this year.
Zelenskyy also went after countries that supply weapons and ammunition to Russia, telling the council Moscow has no legitimate reason to make Iran and North Korea āde facto accomplices.ā
The U.S. includes China, Iran and North Korea in its accusations
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken raised similar issues but also accused China, which has close ties to Russia, of providing Russia with machine tools, microelectronics and other items it is using āto rebuild, restock and ramp up its war machine and sustain its brutal war.ā
Wang, who spoke after him, didn't directly respond but said: āI also wish to make it clear that on the Ukraine issue, any move to shift responsibility onto China or attack and smear China is irresponsible and will lead nowhere.ā
Blinken also accused Iran of providing armed drones to Russia since 2022 and transferring hundreds of short-range ballistic missiles a few weeks ago ā which its new president, Masoud Pezeshkian, has denied. North Korea has also delivered trainloads of weapons and ammunition to Russia including ballistic missiles and artillery rounds, Blinken said.
āThe more Russia relies on their support, the more Iran and North Korea extract in return,ā Blinken said. āAnd the more Putin gives to Pyongyang and Tehran, the more he exacerbates threats to peace and security.ā
To those who ask how the United States and others can and criticize countries supplying military materiel to Russia, Blinken said the answer is simple: āRussia is the aggressor, Ukraine is the victim.ā
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Edith M. Lederer, chief U.N. correspondent for The Associated Press, has covered international affairs for more than 50 years. See more of APās coverage of the U.N. General Assembly at
Edith M. Lederer, The Associated Press
