By Janet Ekstract
DAVOS (GOLDENHORN AGENCY)-At the World Economic Forum in Davos (WEF), Ukraine was the major focus and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky opened the forum with a speech via video link, urging world leaders to facilitate “maximum sanctions” on Russian oil, banks, its IT sector and not to trade with Russia.
Zelensky commented: “This is what sanctions should be: They should be maximum so that Russia and every other potential aggressor that wants to wage a brutal war against its neighbor would clearly know the immediate consequences of their actions.”
Zelensky suggested freezing or seizing all Russian assets to put into a special fund to be used to assist those affected by the war. He also said that such an action sends a message to “every aggressor not to do what Russia has done.” In addition, Zelensky said: “Any company which leaves Russia is welcome to move to the Ukraine market, companies would benefit by truly supporting freedom.”
Zelensky reminded world leaders that had Ukraine received what it needed a whole lot earlier that many lives would have been saved, referring to support, “weapons or decision in funding, political support and sanctions against Russia, the result would be tens of thousands of lives saved.” He added, “This is why Ukraine needs all the weapons that we ask, not just the ones that were being provided. And that is why Ukraine needs funding. That’s at least $5 billion per month and all the funding that we need for rebuilding our country.” The Ukrainian president emphasized that had there been global unity in 2014 when Russia made its move to annex Crimea, that Russia would not have launched its “February invasion.” Zelensky added, “If the aggressor loses everything that definitely deprives him of any motivation to start a war.” He said: “We offer the world a chance to set a precedent for what happens if you try to destroy a neighbor. I invite you to take part in this rebuilding.”
