Russia-Ukraine war: Zelenskyy calls on G20 to adopt his plan to end war

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy addressed the leaders of the G20 countries at the summit in Bali this week. Zelenskyy called on the G20 leaders to adopt his peace plan to end the war.

Zelenskyy addressed the leaders of the G20 countries at the summit in Bali Tuesday. In his remarks, Zelenskyy said the war must end “justly” and in line with the United Nations charter and international law.

“Now is the time when the Russian destructive war must and can be stopped,” said Zelenskyy. “Every day of delay means new deaths of Ukrainians, new threats to the world, and an insane increase in losses due to the continuation of the Russian aggression – losses for everyone in the world.”

Zelenskyy then urged the G20 leaders to take action on nuclear safety, maintain food and energy security, and restore international law.

“And if Russia opposes our peace formula, you will see that it only wants war,” said Zelenskyy.

Zelenskyy’s remarks come amidst advances by Ukrainian forces on the ground in recent weeks in its eastern and southern territories. Ukrainian forces were able to reclaim Kherson, the only major city that Russia seized since its invasion back in February. Zelenskyy also visited Kherson the day before, pledging to move forward until Ukraine reclaimed all of its territories, including Crimea.

At the G20 summit, Zelenskyy called for restoring the “radiation safety” surrounding the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant, price restrictions on Russian energy products, and expanding its grain port initiative. Zelenskyy also called for the release of all Ukrainian prisoners.

Also, at the summit, Indonesian President Joko Widodo opened the conference with a call to end the war that is moving toward its ninth month and bridge “wide differences” in the face of rifts among the members over the war. Widodo expressed gratitude for the honor of hosting the event and also acknowledged the tense mood among its members.

Widodo said the world could not afford to get into another cold war and that the G20 countries must work to end the war. Indonesia has sought to be a mediator between the two countries, and Widodo has visited both Moscow and Kyiv.