NewsUkrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky Tuesday urged world leaders gathered for the G20 summit to adopt his 10-point proposal for peace in Ukraine. The war in Ukraine was center stage at the G20 summit, which concluded Wednesday with a collective condemnation of the war in Ukraine.
At the summit, Zelensky said that Ukraine will not let Russia build up its forces again and “start a new series of terror and global destabilization.” Zelensky continued, “Ukraine should not be offered to make compromises with its conscience, sovereignty, territory, and independence.” His peace proposal stated the following 10 goals to bring peace to Ukraine:
- Radiation and nuclear safety
- Food safety
- Energy security
- Release of all prisoners and deportees
- Implementation of the UN Charter and restoration of the territorial integrity of Ukraine and the world order
- Withdrawal of Russian troops and cessation of hostilities
- Restoring justice
- Anti-ecocide
- Prevention of escalation
- Ending the war
President Zelensky said these goals are “specific and honest.” He urged the other leading states of the world to be co-creators of peace alongside Ukraine. Zelensky also stated these goals are “a set of solutions that can be implemented to really guarantee peace,” and “if Russia says that it supposedly wants to end this war, let it prove it with actions.”
UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said that the G20 summit condemned the war in Ukraine while Russia’s Foreign Minister, Sergey Lavrov, was sitting in the room. Sunak said, “[W]e highlighted both the illegality and barbaric nature of Russia’s war. And also the devastating impact it’s having on people around the world through higher food and energy prices.”
A joint, 17-page final document for the G20 summit, read, “Most members strongly condemned the war in Ukraine and stressed it is causing immense human suffering and exacerbating existing fragilities in the global economy.” While the document acknowledged that not all G20 members were in agreement on the issue, it noted that in general, members deplore “in the strongest terms the aggression by the Russian Federation against Ukraine.”
