"I want countries in Asia to change their treatment of Ukraine" - Zelenskyy
Iryna Balachuk — Saturday, 23 April 2022, 21:09
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said during his press conference on the night of 23 April that the Ukrainian resistance to the Russian invasion has already changed the treatment of Ukraine by countries in Europe, and now the time has come for countries in Asia to do the same, as the Russian aggression against Ukraine will impact them too.
Source: Zelenskyy during press conference on 23 April
Quote: "We managed to change, with our unity and strength, the treatment of Ukraine by many European countries. I would very much like countries in Asia to change their treatment of Ukraine, too.
Do I sense that they have? No. Have they changed it? I think their people have, for sure. The people of these states know us well. And I feel that the leaders of these countries are getting there."
Details: Zelenskyy added that whereas earlier, countries in Asia were very close to the Soviet Union and, after its collapse, to Russia as its successor, now Ukraine is changing that.
The President thinks that leaders of these countries are now seeing that "no country should be allowed to violate the world order, to take someone else’s territory, to enforce its own rules in other countries and on other continents."
Zelenskyy underscored that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine will impact other continents; particularly, it may lead to starvation.
He explained that before the war, Ukraine was producing some 110 million tons of grain, of which Ukraine itself needed only 20 million tons, and the rest was exported. Now, because of the war, those 90 million tons are what "those other countries will simply not receive." According to Zelenskyy, that will lead to rising prices and shortages.
"This can mean starvation. Here is what Russia has done. We are seeing now that it is not just a war in Europe, it is a war on other continents because of these steps of disrespect towards all life and towards international law," said he.
