Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has told world leaders at the Group of 20 (G20) summit in Indonesia that now is the time to stop Russia’s war on his country under a peace plan he has proposed.
In his address to the G20 on Tuesday, Zelenskyy said the war should be ended “justly and on the basis of the UN Charter and international law”.
“Now is the time when the Russian destructive war must and can be stopped,” Zelenskyy said by via video link to the summit on the Indonesian island of Bali.
“Every day of delay means new deaths of Ukrainians, new threats to the world, and an insane increase in losses due to continuation of the Russian aggression – losses for everyone in the world,” he said.
The Ukrainian president urged the G20 leaders to take action on nuclear safety, ensure food and energy security, and see the restoration of international law.
“And if Russia opposes our peace formula, you will see that it only wants war,” he said.
Ukrainian forces have made significant advances against Russian troops in recent weeks in Ukraine’s east and south, including Kherson city – the biggest prize Ukrainian troops fought for and won from Russian forces since the start of the war in February.
Zelenskyy visited Kherson city on Monday where he promised to press on until Ukraine reclaims control of all of its occupied territory.
Speaking to the G20, the Ukrainian leader called for restoring “radiation safety” with regard to the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, introducing price restrictions on Russian energy resources, and expanding a grain export initiative.
He also called for all Ukrainian prisoners to be released.
“Please choose your path for leadership – and together we will surely implement the peace formula,” he said.
Reporting from Bali, Al Jazeera’s diplomatic editor James Bays said Zelenskyy had been invited to attend by the host, Indonesia, even though Ukraine is not a member of the G20. Unable to attend because of the ongoing war, the Ukrainian president made his address by video link.
“It was, we’re told from those in the hall, an impassioned but yet very detailed speech,” Bays said.
The Ukrainian president spoke about the need to establish a special tribunal to investigate Russia’s war of “aggression”, and called for compensation to be paid for the damage done to his country, Bays said.
“He also said then there should be an international conference to draw up a new, post-war security architecture for Europe. That’s something that Russia, I’m sure, will not like at all,” he added.
Russia’s foreign minister, Sergey Lavrov, is representing his country at the G20 after Russia said President Vladimir Putin was too busy to attend.
The United States expects the G20 to condemn Russia’s war in Ukraine and its impact on the global economy at the conclusion of the meeting on Wednesday, a senior US official told the Reuters news agency.
