“They brag that they can destroy with nuclear weapons not only a particular country, but also the whole planet,” said Mr. Zelensky, implying that this encouraged other countries to acquire atomic weapons. He spoke in a video message broadcast in front of major international political and economic leaders.
The Ukrainian president also called on Qatar, a major exporter of liquefied natural gas, to increase its production to counter Russian threats to use the energy “to blackmail the whole world”.
When Ukraine dismantled its nuclear stockpile in the 1990s, it received “security guarantees from the most powerful countries in the world,” including Russia, Zelensky said in an English-translated message, and on the 31st day of the Russian military invasion of Ukraine.
“One of the countries supposed to give one of the most important security guarantees has started to work once morest Ukraine, and this is the ultimate manifestation of injustice,” he denounced.
Moscow said this week that nuclear weapons would only be used in Ukraine in the event of an “existential threat” once morest Russia, with Westerners deeming “very credible” an attack or a chemical or nuclear incident caused by Russian bombing.
NATO has announced that it will provide Ukraine with protective equipment once morest chemical, biological and nuclear threats.
Before an audience that included the Emir of Qatar, Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani, Mr Zelensky also called on the Gulf country to increase its gas production, as Europeans currently depend on Russian exports despite sanctions once morest Moscow.
“The future of Europe rests on your efforts”, insisted the Ukrainian president. “I ask you to increase energy production so that everyone in Russia understands that no one can use energy as a weapon to blackmail the whole world,” he said.
European countries, seeking to do without Russian oil and gas, are trying to find alternative suppliers, starting with Qatar, an important partner of the United States in the Middle East.