Zelenskyy reproaches Central Asian countries for not supporting Peace Summit: Putin won't send in tanks for that

Zelenskyy in an interview for Central Asian media representatives in Kharkiv. Photo: Vlast.kz

Volodymyr Zelenskyy, President of Ukraine, considers the Central Asian countries’ non-participation in the Peace Summit to be a sign of weakness and has urged them to join, even if they hold dissenting views.

Source: Zelenskyy in an interview for Central Asian media representatives, a full video of which was posted by the President’s press service on 26 May

Quote: "We are organising the Peace Summit, we are taking steps forward. They are unsteady, like the steps of a small child, but it’s important to support them. These are the right steps, and these are steps forward, definitely towards peace, not war. We are inviting all the leaders; they have not sat at the same table before, as everyone has their own interests; some have imposed sanctions, some have not.

We’re inviting everyone, including the leaders of Central Asia. We’re inviting everyone, and we want to see them at this summit. What is scary about that? The only scary thing is that Putin won’t be there. That’s all. Might Putin invade one of the Central Asian countries with tanks because of that? No, it’s not enough for that kind of reaction. So what are those refusing to join in afraid of? They’re afraid of losing something, afraid of losing their relationship with today’s Kremlin."

Details: Zelenskyy urged the journalists from Central Asian media outlets to imagine a situation in which one of their countries was in Ukraine’s shoes, and to imagine how they would feel about countries who did not support them or "did not join in".

"Just imagine that you’re alone in a war against an aggressor – it doesn’t matter which. I consider this a sign of weakness," Zelenskyy said.

"We would like the leaders of Central Asian countries to be there, we would like them to support this event. I don’t even mind if they say: ‘We have our own perspective.’ That’s fine, but share that perspective with others," Zelenskyy added.

Background: On 26 May, Zelenskyy reported that over 80 countries have confirmed their participation in the Peace Summit in Switzerland and urged the leaders of the US and China to personally attend the event. 

Ukraine anticipates that the participants of the Global Peace Summit in Switzerland will draw up an action plan together on three points: free shipping; nuclear and energy security; and prisoners of war swaps and bringing back illegally deported children. 

The Global Peace Summit will be held on 15-16 June in Bürgenstock, Switzerland.

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