Zelenskyy urges united voice against Russian aggression at European Political Community Summit
發佈日期: 2026-05-04 23:40
TVB News
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy addressed a European Political Community Summit on Monday, calling for a united European voice against Russian aggression.
Leaders from European Union countries and regional partners arrived in Yerevan, Armenia, on Monday for the 8th European Political Community summit.
The gathering is focusing on regional and international issues, and aims to reinforce cooperation and partnerships.
Speaking at the summit, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Russia must be pushed towards diplomacy. This as the Russia-Ukraine war rages on.
Zelenskyy said: "This summer will be a moment when (Russian President Vladimir) Putin decides what to do next, expand the war, or move to diplomacy. And we must push him toward diplomacy. Russia has announced a May 9 parade in Moscow without military equipment. If that happens, it will be the first time in many, many years they cannot afford military equipment. And they fear drones may buzz over Red Square. This is telling. It shows they are not strong now, so we must keep the pressure by sanctions on them."
He said, "We need to focus on what we will do if Russia does not end this war. We need continued pressure and we need peace. And of course, it's number one. We need to find a workable diplomatic format, and Europe must be at the table in any talks. And we are in contact with the United States and we understand their views and positions. But it would be good to develop one common European voice for talks with Russians."
Meanwhile, French President Emmanuel Macron spoke about the situation in the Middle East and the role of Europe at the summit.
Speaking to reporters, Macron said "if the US wants or is ready to reopen Hormuz, that's great. That's what we've been asking for since the beginning," but he underlined the Europeans are not ready to get involved in any operation "that does not seem clear to them."
Separately, European leaders on Monday said US President Donald Trump's snap decision to pull thousands of US troops out of Germany came as a surprise but is a fresh sign that Europe must take care of its own security.
The Pentagon announced last week that it would pull some 5,000 troops out of Germany, but Trump told reporters on Saturday that "we're going to cut way down. And we're cutting a lot further than 5,000."
Macron stressed Europe is strenthening its own security.
As did European Commision President Ursula von der Leyen and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni.
Von der Leyen said: "I mean, if there was an eye opener over the last four years, then it is the fact that we need to stand up for ourselves. It's long overdue. This is the reason why we mobilised up to 800 billion euros until 2030 to fill the gaps that we have in security and defense."
"It is of utmost importance that we are more independent in this topic and that we're able to build a credible deterrence, because the best prevention of potential military aggression is a credible deterrence."
Meloni said, "Well, we are speaking today about a polycrisis, okay? But what does it mean, polycrisis? I mean, I think it is not simply that we are facing lots of crises together. That's it. The problem is all those crises are related one to the other and feed one and the other."
She added: "And I think it is very important we understand that, also to face the fact that we cannot simply take care of one or two facets of this crisis, but we have to tackle them all."
