Ukraine’s President Volodymr Zelensky has urged Australia to reopen its embassy in Kyiv during his first internationally televised live news conference to mark one year since Russia’s invasion of his country.
Zelensky used the media attention to heap pressure on China, Latin America and African countries to pick their side in the war in a 2.5-hour question and answer session with the world’s press.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky speaks to the media during a press conference in Kyiv.Credit:Getty
Asked by Australian journalist Ben Lewis, of SBS, if he wanted to see Australia to reopen its Ukrainian embassy, Zelensky switched from speaking in his native tongue to English to answer.
He asked the federal government to return its diplomats to the capital so that he could shake the hand of the ambassador for the Bushmaster armoured vehicles that Australia donated as part of its contribution to Ukraine’s resistance.
“It’s so nice to hear a question that you can say ‘yes’ to,” he said, speaking first through a translator.
Bruce Edwards, a career official with the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, fled Kyiv alongside dozens of diplomats in January last year as tens of thousands of Russian troops assembled at the Ukrainian border ahead of the invasion.
But as of February 19, 67 of the 81 diplomatic missions that left the war-torn capital have now reopened, many since May – including the embassies of the US, Britain and Canada – after Moscow’s troops withdrew from the areas around Kyiv last April.
Just five days ago, Defence Industry Minister Pat Conroy who represented Australia at the high-powered Munich Security Conference to urge European counterparts to stay focussed on the Indo-Pacific, defended Australia’s decision to keep its embassy closed and said that his Ukrainian counterpart had not asked him to restore the diplomatic post.
But Zelensky urged the ambassador to “come back” so he could thank him personally for the Bushmasters.
“And that is why, to shake hands with the ambassador of Australia, I will do it with pleasure.
“Please come, come back but on Bushmaster, we need one more,” he said, prompting laughter in the room, which was filled with around 200 international journalists.
“I’ll be very happy, really. I have relations with Australia and they really helped us a lot. I had a big, huge, deficit with armoued vehicles and it [was a] very important moment.
“And I don’t want to share all the information [about]] how many we got from Australia but anyway, we’ve got it and that is great.”
The OECD, headed by Australia’s former finance minister Mathias Cormann, announced the organisation would be opening a liaison office in Kyiv.
Zelensky used the media spotlight to increase pressure on China, which has attempted to cast itself as a peace broker. This was despite warnings from the US and NATO that Beijing may give Russia lethal aid to help it defeat Ukraine.
“China spoke its mind about the matter,” he said.
“China started talking about Ukraine and I think this is a good thing.
“But it begs the question what will these words be followed with? Because the steps to be taken, this is what’s important.
“What they are saying looks like respect for territorial integrity, but it doesn’t mention the country. But it’s our territorial integrity which has been breached.”
He said there are points in the Chinese proposals that he agrees with, and some he doesn’t. He said China’s involvement could be useful in isolating Russia, adding that Ukraine’s task “is to gather everyone to isolate the one”.
“If there are ideas that are aligned with the idea of international law, territorial integrity and security guarantees, then we need to put those to good use, we need to work with China on that, why not?”
Zelensky said his main goal was making sure China doesn’t supply weapons to Russia.
He also said he’d like to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping: “I believe that it will benefit our countries and the security of the world.”
The G7 leaders held a call and in a statement called on countries and “other international actors” supplying Russia to cease “or face severe costs”.
“To deter this activity around the world, we are taking actions against third-country actors materially supporting Russia’s war in Ukraine,” the leaders said without naming a country.
After the call, a Downing Street spokeswoman said: “Reflecting on China’s ceasefire proposals, the prime minister said he supported President Zelensky’s calls for China to engage with Ukraine, adding that peace could only be achieved on Ukraine’s terms.”
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