SINGAPORE – Diplomacy does work, but it requires the will and backing of the global community, said Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at the Shangri-La Dialogue on June 2.
President Zelensky said this as he sought international support for a peace summit to be held in Switzerland on June 15 and 16. The summit is intended to show that there is a common understanding among most nations on next steps towards peace in Ukraine, and to convey this to Russia.
That the civilised world has not allowed Ukraine to be seized by an aggressor shows that the international community puts stock in the rules-based order and respect for human life, said Mr Zelensky.
The war has also brought together countries with different world views in support of Ukraine, and demonstrated that most nations truly desire cooperation for collective security, he added.
“What brought them together? Naturally, diplomacy,” he said. “Diplomacy does work, when it truly aims to protect lives.”
In a speech aimed at galvanising support for his vision of the terms needed to end the war – particularly from Asian countries – Mr Zelensky called on leaders gathered at the annual security forum to personally participate in the upcoming Ukraine-backed peace summit.
But the participation of key protagonists remained in doubt, as Russia has made clear it would not be taking part, and China has said that it would be “difficult” for it to attend if Russia did not participate.
US President Joe Biden, who is locked in an election campaign against Donald Trump, has yet to confirm his attendance at the summit. But Mr Zelensky said the US has confirmed “high level” official participation.
China an ‘instrument in the hands of Putin’: Zelensky
Mr Zelensky asserted that Russia has been using Chinese influence and Chinese diplomats to pressure countries in this region against participating in the peace summit.
At a press conference following his speech, he had strong words to describe China’s support for Russia’s war efforts, citing intelligence reports that Beijing has been supplying equipment that Moscow has used in the war.
This runs counter to President Xi Jinping’s earlier promise that China will not involve itself in the war, nor support Russia with weapons, said Mr Zelensky, who called support for Russia a “strategic mistake”.
“You can never support a country that’s an aggressor... It says that the policy of your country is also the same in general, supporting aggression,” he said.
He added: “It’s unfortunate that such a big, independent, powerful country as China is an instrument in the hands of (Russian President) Putin.”
Mr Zelensky said he had hoped to meet with the Chinese delegation on the sidelines of the Shangri-La Dialogue, but this did not materialise.
Earlier in the day, Chinese Defence Minister Dong Jun said China stands firmly on the side of peace and dialogue in the Ukraine crisis.
“We have put strict control on export of dual-use items, and have never done anything to fan the flames,” he said.
‘Time is running out’
In his speech, Mr Zelensky, 46, listed nuclear security, food security and the return of Ukrainian children as the peace summit’s three priorities.
He stressed that the summit is not about weapons support, but about finding a path to peace. “This is about the support of the very end of the war. It’s about disrupting it, and doing it in all regions,” he said in his first in-person address at Asia’s premier security forum.
Mr Zelensky last spoke at the Shangri-La Dialogue in 2022, when he appeared via video conference wearing a black T-shirt with an illustration designed by a Singaporean teen. It showed a girl spray-painting the blue and yellow colours of the Ukraine flag.
Time is running out, he said, as he renewed his call for international support. Mr Zelensky’s arrival in Singapore on June 1 coincided with Russia’s largest missile and drone attack in more than three weeks against Ukraine’s critical infrastructure.
“(Abducted Ukrainian) children are growing up in Putin’s land, where they are taught to hate their homeland, and being told they have no families while their loved ones wait for them at home in Ukraine,” he said.
“After the peace summit, when the global majority agrees on the common understandings and steps, the relevant parties will pass this to Russia,” he added.
The three priorities are part of Mr Zelensky’s 10-point plan for peace, which also includes the withdrawal of all Russian troops from its territory.
“If these basic things are implemented, other points of the peace formula will work as well,” he said.
Mr Zelensky, who touched down in Singapore on June 1 with Ukrainian Defence Minister Rustem Umerov in tow, was speaking as a last-minute addition to a discussion that included Singapore’s Defence Minister Ng Eng Hen and Malaysia’s Defence Minister Mohamed Khaled Nordin.
Even before he took to the stage, Mr Zelensky has had a series of meetings with other leaders who are in town for the security forum, which is organised by the International Institute for Strategic Studies.
Among the leaders he met were Indonesia’s President-elect Prabowo Subianto, Timor-Leste President Jose Ramos-Horta, a delegation of the US House Committee on Foreign Affairs, and US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin.
He also met Singapore’s President Tharman Shanmugaratnam, Prime Minister Lawrence Wong and a group of Singaporean investors.
However, response to his call for high-level support of Ukraine’s peace summit was lacklustre: from his meetings, Mr Zelensky could only confirm that Mr Ramos-Horta would be attending.
At his plenary session, Mr Zelensky urged leaders in the region, including Singapore, to participate personally in the peace process.
In response, Dr Ng said Singapore strongly supports Ukraine’s position both in principle and practice, but stopped short of saying whether the Republic will be part of the summit.
He noted that shortly after the invasion, Singapore had condemned Russia’s actions and put in place unilateral sanctions against Russian entities. The Republic had co-sponsored a United Nations resolution that condemned the invasion and called for an immediate withdrawal of Russian troops.
“I speak on behalf of us that we hope that your struggles will continue to bear victory, and we hope (for) significant progress, and we wish for your personal safety and the well-being of the people of Ukraine,” said Dr Ng, to applause from attendees.
Asked if he believes in a diplomatic solution that could end the war in Ukraine, Mr Zelensky gave an emphatic reply, having disclosed that 106 countries will be sending representatives to the peace summit, of which 75 have confirmed they would send their heads of state.
“It is possible to end the war in a diplomatic way if the world unites and isolates Russia,” he said.
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2024-06-02 12:40:55Z
CBMiiwFodHRwczovL3d3dy5zdHJhaXRzdGltZXMuY29tL3NpbmdhcG9yZS9pdC1zLWFib3V0LXN1cHBvcnRpbmctdGhlLXZlcnktZW5kLW9mLXdhci11a3JhaW5lLXMtemVsZW5za3ktc2Vla3MtYXNpYS1zLWJhY2tpbmctZm9yLWl0cy1wZWFjZS1wbGFu0gEA
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