Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelenskyy spoke at the 81st United Nations General Assembly in New York on Tuesday. He called for more economic sanctions against Russia, along the lines of the Russia sanctions act in the US, and slammed Russia’s Vladimir Putin as the ‘Patient Zero’ of war.
Taking a cue from the United States’ recent Russia sanctions act, which gives the Trump administration power to impose up to 100% tariffs on countries importing oil and gas from Russia, Zelenskyy called for similar sanctions from other nations, noting that Russia’s revenues “must remain a target. Larvov said that Kremlin is willing to negotiate lasting peace in the region but won’t pause the war, as it would give Ukraine and its allies time to gather weapons. It doesn’t solve a war, but it does, I think, in some ways potentially alleviate some of the global pressures that have been felt as a result of that. So that’s something we’re always open to exploring.”
“When someone gives Russia more money through trade, they give this war more time. Against the backdrop of the Russia sanctions act, Russia’s foreign minister Sergei Lavrov met with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio in a closed-door meeting at the UNGA Wednesday. “But it’s something that both sides have expressed interest in.
And that is exactly why we insist on limiting trade with the aggressor, and why we are burning Russia’s revenues ourselves,” Zelenskyy said. Rubio told reporters after the meeting that Russia and Ukraine both expressed interest in a limited ceasefire which would limit the attacks on energy infrastructures from both sides. “Obviously, you know, that won’t be easy either because” Rubio said.
Zelenskyy spoke hours after Russia’s foreign minister Sergey Larvod spoke on Wednesday.
