President Volodymyr Zelensky called for the United Nations to more actively stand up to Russian aggression and common global threats like COVID‑19 that disproportionately hurt less powerful countries.
In his Sept. 22 speech to the UN General Assembly, which concluded his two-day trip to New York, Zelensky said the UN charter needs to be “revived” because “no one in the world feels safe anymore.”
“Today the UN is like a retired superhero who has forgotten what he could do. He considers himself a burden, a weak, frail, useless old man, whose life was in vain,” said Zelensky from the stand.
Zelensky’s criticism put the capstone on his two-day quest to shed light on Russia’s continuing illegal occupation of Ukraine’s Crimean Peninsula and the Kremlin’s human rights violations there, and in the eastern Donbas, where Russia has also been waging war since 2014.
Russia’s renewed crackdown came soon after Ukraine brought 30 international delegations to the Crimea Platform summit on Aug. 23 in an attempt to build international support to call for Russia’s withdrawal from the peninsula.
“The fact that the UN has ignored the (Crimean) Platform for solving the problems of international law and occupation is some new, unapproved principles,” said Zelensky.
On the UN sidelines, Zelensky held face-to-face meetings with U. K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and the leaders of the UN, NATO and the European Union.
The deterioration of even basic human rights in occupied Crimea was the first issue on his list, yet the president also took time to discuss trade, military partnership and future official visits.
Returning Crimea
Zelensky was openly upset that the UN had recently turned a blind eye to the Russian occupation of Ukrainian territories.
In the past month, Russia increased attacks on activists in Crimea. In mid-September, Russian occupation authorities arrested over 60 Crimeans within several days. Most of them are Crimean Tatars known for their support of Ukrainian territorial integrity.
Some of the activists arrested by Russian authorities in Crimea were those who attended the summit. Kyiv sees the attacks as Kremlin’s retaliation for the Crimean Platform.
One of those under arrest is Nariman Dzhelyal, deputy head of Mejlis, the representative body of Crimean Tatars, who attended the summit.
Zelensky demanded the release of Dzhelyal and all other political prisoners.
“Dzhelyal was illegally detained in Crimea. Russia accuses this political scientist, prominent journalist, TV presenter, teacher of law and history of trying to blow up a section of the gas pipeline,” said Zelensky. “Here is the price of freedom, here is the price of fighting for your rights, for human rights.”
Zelensky asked the UN to intervene and support the release of 450 Ukrainians illegally held hostage by Russia in Crimea and elsewhere.
He also gave the list of 450 Ukrainian political prisoners to Johnson during their meeting. Zelensky had provided a similar list to U. S. President Joe Biden during their meeting at the White House on Sept. 1. Back then, the list was shorter.
Zelensky had a similar message for UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres during their meeting on Sept. 21. The president said Ukraine counts on UN support to end Russia’s occupation of the peninsula.
“Achieving the ultimate goal of the Crimea Platform — the return of Crimea — will restore respect for the UN Charter,” Zelensky said.
Zelensky’s meeting with Erdogan focused on the construction of housing for the Crimean Tatar people, the indigenous population of the peninsula, and the assistance in negotiating the release of Crimean Tatar political prisoners.
In turn, Erdogan said that Turkey will never recognize the Russian occupation of the peninsula.
“We have and always will support Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, including over Crimea,” said Erdogan.
Teaser meetings
Zelensky also used his short meetings with foreign leaders to schedule future official visits and list the questions up for future debate.
He also met the Ukrainian diaspora and heads of business associations to improve ties and pitch the idea of investing in Ukraine.
“I think you are our best ambassadors. Because you are defending our state, our sovereignty, territorial integrity abroad,” Zelensky told the members of the Ukrainian-American community.
Zelensky’s second visit to the U.S. within a month began with a face-to-face meeting with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.
Key questions on the agenda were the preparations for the upcoming EU-Ukraine Summit scheduled to take place in Kyiv on Oct. 12.
Zelensky also thanked the European Commission for greenlighting the allocation of the second $700 million assistance package to Ukraine days before the New York meeting.
The first installment was granted in December to “provide macroeconomic support during the COVID‑19 pandemic.” The second installment was unfrozen after Ukraine launched its much-awaited judicial reform.
Yet, Ukraine’s judicial reform is currently stuck in limbo with Ukrainian judges being allowed to sabotage the reform of their own courts.
After von der Leyen, the president met Erdogan. The Turkish president is also scheduled to visit Ukraine soon to take part in the 10th meeting of the Strategic Cooperation Council held annually during Zelensky’s presidency.
The meeting is expected to take place in early 2022.
According to the Turkish pro-government Daily Sabah newspaper, the two leaders signed a military framework agreement and discussed the expansion of bilateral military partnership and the implementation of a free trade agreement (FTA) between the two countries.
“Turkey sees Ukraine as a key country for ensuring stability, security, peace and prosperity in our region,” Erdogan said according to the newspaper.
Turkey is currently one of Ukraine’s top military partners, providing investments, ships and drones.
However, the FTA talks between the two countries began in 2011 and have been declared a “nearly done deal” in 2018, 2020 and 2021, with no results.
Zelensky’s meeting with Johnson has also been a preview of the president’s upcoming official visit to Glasgow on Nov. 1 to take part in the UN Climate Change Conference.
Zelensky and Johnson discussed the Ukraine-U.K. Free Trade Agreement launched on Jan. 1 as well as the energy partnership against the backdrop of Russia’s Nord Stream 2 pipeline poised to cut Ukraine out of the gas transit market.
According to Zelensky, bilateral trade between the two countries increased by 70% since the start of the FTA.
“In less than a year since the launch of the agreement, we already have concrete results of Ukrainian-British cooperation,” Zelensky said.
