Countries Tell Ukraine ‘You Are Not Alone' after UN Adopts Neutral Stance on War
The event, held to commemorate "resistance to the Russian aggression", follows the resolution adopted in New York on the war's third anniversary that reflects President Donald Trump's upending of US policy on Ukraine and his more conciliatory stance towards Russia.
"You are not alone. Norway and other countries, all the countries who are here, but also other countries, will continue to support you as you fight for your territorial integrity, your sovereignty and your human dignity," Norway's Deputy Foreign Minister Andreas Motzfeldt Kravik told a packed room of ministers and diplomats.
Thousands of Ukrainian citizens have died since Russia invaded in 2022 and more than 6 million are refugees abroad. Russia has said it had no choice but to launch what it calls its "special military operation" due to the NATO alliance's eastwards expansion.
Estonia's Minna-Liina Lind, Undersecretary for Global Affairs, told the room she was "extremely worried" by the fact that the Security Council passed a resolution that does not include long-held language on Ukraine's territorial integrity.
"But I think the European resolve is even greater. When there's someone else not as strong, the others fill in," she told Reuters after the meeting, co-organized by Ukraine and Liechtenstein on the sidelines of the UN Human Rights Council.
The US failed to convince the UN General Assembly to pass the same resolution that passed in the Security Council on Monday. The General Assembly instead adopted motions seen as more favorable for Ukraine, in a diplomatic victory over Washington.
Most countries attending the Geneva event were European and included France and Germany, but others such as Türkiye, South Korea, Australia and Japan were also present. Washington sent a delegate who did not take the floor.
Ukraine's ambassador Yevheniia Filipenko, who at one point became emotional while addressing the room, asked countries to continue their support for rebuilding Ukraine and seeking accountability for crimes committed since Russia's invasion.
"The road ahead is very challenging but when we are united we can prevail," she said.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Al Arabiya
an hour ago
- Al Arabiya
Russian special envoy Kirill Dmitriev to take part in Alaska summit, source says
Russian Special Envoy Kirill Dmitriev will participate in Friday's summit in Alaska between President Vladimir Putin and U.S. President Donald Trump, a source familiar with the matter said on Thursday. Dmitriev, who heads up Russia's RDIF sovereign wealth fund, has previously held talks with Steve Witkoff, Trump's special envoy, and has spoken of possible business cooperation between Moscow and Washington. Developing
Asharq Al-Awsat
2 hours ago
- Asharq Al-Awsat
Oil Regains Ground from 2-month Lows ahead of Trump-Putin Meeting
Oil prices edged higher on Thursday, regaining ground after a sell-off in the previous session, with the upcoming meeting between US President Donald Trump and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin raising risk premiums in the market. Brent crude futures were up 28 cents, or 0.43%, at $65.91 a barrel at 0057 GMT, while US West Texas Intermediate crude futures rose 23 cents, or 0.37%, to $62.89. Both contracts hit their lowest in two months on Wednesday after bearish supply guidance from the US government and the International Energy Agency (IEA), reported Reuters. Trump on Wednesday threatened "severe consequences" if Putin does not agree to peace in Ukraine. Trump did not specify what the consequences could be, but he has warned of economic sanctions if the meeting in Alaska on Friday proves fruitless. "The uncertainty of US-Russia peace talks continues to add a bullish risk premium given Russian oil buyers could face more economic pressure," Rystad Energy said in a client note. "How Ukraine-Russia crisis resolves and Russia flows change could bring some unexpected surprises." Another support for oil is that the expectation that the US Federal Reserve will cut rates in September is at close to 100% after US inflation increased at a moderate pace in July. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said he thought an aggressive half-point cut was possible given recent weak employment numbers. The market is putting the odds of a quarter-percentage point cut at the Fed's September 16-17 meeting at 99.9%, according to the CME FedWatch tool. Lower borrowing rates would drive demand for oil. The dollar was hovering near multi-week lows against the euro and sterling on Thursday as traders ramped up bets for the Fed to resume cutting interest rates next month. Oil prices were kept in check as crude inventories in the United States unexpectedly rose by 3 million barrels in the week ended on August 8, according to the US Energy Information Administration on Wednesday, against expectations in a Reuters poll for a 275,000-barrel draw. Also, holding oil back was an International Energy Agency forecast that 2025 and 2026 world oil supply would rise more rapidly than expected, as the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies, together known as OPEC+, increase output and production from outside the group grows.
Saudi Gazette
4 hours ago
- Saudi Gazette
European leaders tentatively hopeful after call with Trump ahead of Putin summit
MUNICH — European leaders appeared cautiously optimistic after holding a virtual meeting with Donald Trump on Wednesday, two days before he meets his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin in Alaska to discuss ending the war in Ukraine. Trump reportedly told the Europeans that his goal for the summit was to obtain a ceasefire between Moscow and Kyiv. He also agreed that any territorial issues had to be decided with Volodymyr Zelensky's involvement, and that security guarantees had to be part of the deal, according to France's Emmanuel Macron. Speaking to Trump had allowed him to "clarify his intentions" and gave the Europeans a chance to "express our expectations," Macron said. Trump and Vice-President JD Vance spoke to the leaders of the UK, France, Germany, Italy, Finland and Poland as well as EU chief Ursula von der Leyen and Nato chief Mark Rutte. UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer will meet with Zelensky in London on Thursday talks will take place at No 10 Downing Street, just 24 hours before the summit between Trump and Europeans have been sidelined from the hastily organised summit in Alaska and their phone call on Wednesday was a last-ditch attempt to keep Ukraine's interests and the continent's security at the forefront of Trump's an extent, it seemed to work. On Wednesday evening Trump rated the meeting "a 10" and said Russia would face "very severe" consequences unless it halted its war in also said that if Friday's meeting went well he would try to organise a "quick second one" involving both Putin and in their statements European leaders restated the need for Kyiv to be involved in any final decision – betraying an underlying nervousness that Putin could ultimately persuade Trump to concede Ukrainian land in exchange for a ceasefire."It's most important thing that Europe convinces Donald Trump that one can't trust Russia," said Poland's Donald Tusk, while German Chancellor Friedrich Merz stressed the leaders had "made it clear that Ukraine must be at the table as soon as follow-up meetings take place".If the Russian side refused to make any concessions, "then the United States and we Europeans should and must increase the pressure", Merz the US-Russia summit was announced last week, Trump has made several references to "land-swapping" between Kyiv and Moscow – sparking serious concerns in Ukraine and beyond that he could be preparing to give in to Putin's longstanding demand to seize large swathes of Ukrainian Wednesday morning Russia's Foreign Ministry spokesperson Alexey Fadeev reiterated that Russia's stance had not changed since Putin set it out in June the time Putin said a ceasefire would start the minute the Ukrainian government withdrew from four regions partially occupied by Russia - Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia. He also said Ukraine would need to officially give up its efforts to join the Nato military are maximalist demands which neither Kyiv nor its European partners see as has said he is convinced that Russia would use any region it was allowed to keep as a springboard for future invasions.A way to counter this threat could be security guarantees - intended as commitments to ensure Ukraine's long-term statements issued after the phone call with Trump, several European leaders said such guarantees had been mentioned and Sir Keir said that "real progress" had been made in that also praised Trump's efforts to reach an agreement, saying: "For three-and-a-bit years this conflict has been going on and we haven't got anywhere near the prospect of an actually viable solution, a viable way of bringing it to a ceasefire."Now we do have that chance, because of the work the president has put in."Since the spring the UK and France have been spearheading efforts to create a so-called "Coalition of the Willing" - a group of nations who have pledged to deter Russia from further invading Wednesday the group said it stood "ready to play an active role" including by deploying "a reassurance force once hostilities have ceased" - although the shape, composition and role of such a force is yet on the front lines, Russia's summer offensive continues to press on. Referencing the sudden advance of Moscow's troops near Dobropillya, in the embattled Donetsk region, Zelensky said Putin was pretending that sanctions were not effective at damaging the Russian economy."I told Trump and our European allies that Putin is bluffing," the Ukrainian president said, urging them to apply "more pressure" on his part, Trump appeared to admit that even when he meets Putin face-to-face he may not be able to get him to stop killing civilians in Ukraine."I've had that conversation with then I go home and see that a rocket has hit a nursing home or an apartment building and people are lying dead in the street."So I guess the answer to that is probably no." — BBC
