“Europe must be able to guarantee peace and security for itself,” pointed out the Ukrainian president.
On Tuesday, at the World Economic Forum (WEF) meeting in Davos, Switzerland, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyi said that Europe should develop a common defense policy and show a willingness to increase spending in order to guarantee its own security. TASR informs according to the report of the AFP agency.
“We need a unified European security and defense policy,” Zelenskyy pointed out, adding that “all European countries must be willing to spend on security as much as is really necessary.”
In his speech, the Ukrainian president further questioned whether US President Donald Trump is really committed to the North Atlantic Alliance (NATO) and European security, when he previously declared that US security priorities are the Middle East and the Asia-Pacific region.
“Will President Trump even notice Europe? Does NATO consider it necessary? And will he respect European institutions?” he asked just a day after Trump’s inauguration.
The US president has repeatedly demanded that NATO member countries increase their defense spending, and he has repeatedly said that he can end the war in Ukraine in a short time – but without giving specific details, writes AFP.
Among the growing threats to European security, Zelenskyi in Davos also included the deployment of North Korean soldiers in the battles in the Kursk region in the west of Russia. “European leaders should remember this – the fighting involving North Korean soldiers is taking place today in places geographically closer to Davos than to Pyongyang,” he pointed out.
He also pointed to the latest pact between Russia and Iran, aimed at strengthening their mutual economic and military cooperation. Zelenskyi described the agreement as an example of a changing situation that is a threat to Europe.
“Who do they make such agreements against? Against you, against all of us,” he pointed out.
