During his speech at the summit of the European Political Community in Budapest, President Vladimir Zelensky urged EU leaders “not to embrace Putin” and emphasized that the concept of “peace through strength” has repeatedly proved its realism and effectiveness.
Zelensky also shared his impressions after his conversation with the newly elected US President Donald Trump.
“It was a good, productive conversation. Of course, we cannot yet know what his specific actions will be. But we hope that America will become stronger. This is the kind of America that Europe needs. And a strong Europe is what America needs. This is the bond between allies, which should be valued and which should not be lost,” Zelensky said.
Zelensky’s main talking points at the European Policy Community summit:
- North Korea is now essentially waging war in Europe. North Korean soldiers are trying to kill our people on European soil.
- Since the European Policy Community summit in Britain in July, there has been a lot of talk about the need to give in to Putin, to back down, to make some “concessions.” And some here have strongly advocated that Ukraine should make “concessions” to Putin. This is unacceptable for Ukraine and suicidal for all of Europe. So what’s the next step? Should Europe seek the favor of Kim Jong-un in the hope that he too will give Europe peace?
- Russia didn’t start this war because it wants more territory. Russia has more land than anyone else. It wanted global power, first to control Ukraine and then to control all of you, as it once did under Soviet or imperial rule.
- We are not defending ourselves against Russian words, but against Russian attacks. That’s why we need sufficient arms, not support in negotiations. Hugging Putin won’t help. Some of you have been hugging him for 20 years and it’s only getting worse.
- The bill for this war should be billed to the Russians, not Ukraine. So that Russia can no longer make its bogus claims to everyone around it, from the Baltic states to the Balkans. Any country, any leader who respects international law and sits at this table must realize that predators always demand more and more prey.
- During this war, we saw the failure of certain European approaches. For example, the closer a country gets to Russia, the weaker the concept of neutrality becomes.
- The Russian state does not value people or morality – it only values money. And so it will also be a lesson for them when Russian assets work for Ukraine….. And now, instead of looking for reasons to delay decisions, it is necessary to find a mechanism how to channel funds to Ukraine so that they start working as soon as possible.
- We all know that Russia is still making enough profit from oil sales to keep the war going. Russia is still avoiding sanctions and buying components for drones and missiles around the world.