By KYIV. Nov 8 (Interfax-Ukraine) – President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky held a meeting with U.S. Representative to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield, who arrived on a visit to Ukraine. They discussed the current situation at the front, as well as the escalation of Russian air terror against critical civilian infrastructure in Ukraine, the press service of the Ukrainian president has said.
"The head of state expressed gratitude to the entire American people, U.S. President Joseph Biden and his administration, the U.S. Congress for the strong bipartisan and bicameral support for Ukraine since the beginning of the full-scale war that Russia is waging against our country," it said.
According to Zelensky, it is very "important that this support is also fully manifested in the UN."
The press service also said that the U.S. delegation received information about the situation at the front and the escalation of Russian air terror against Ukraine’s critical civilian infrastructure using cruise missiles and Iranian drones.
It was also emphasized that almost 40% of energy infrastructure facilities were damaged by targeted Russian attacks, as a result of which more than 4.5 million consumers remain without electricity in Ukraine.
"Given the continuation of Russia’s missile terror, our first priority is to urgently create an air shield over Ukraine," Zelensky said.
He noted that Russia supplements its missile terror with cynical accusations against Ukraine of creating a "dirty bomb", which have already been officially refuted by the IAEA, and the continuation of open nuclear blackmail at Zaporizhia Nuclear Power Plant.
In this regard, the president of Ukraine noted the need for the United Nations to take a number of immediate steps, including "the immediate dispatch to Ukraine of a mission of UN experts initiated by our state to investigate the supply of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) by Iran to Russia in violation of UN Security Council sanctions; the dispatch of competent UN representatives to facilities of critical infrastructure of Ukraine to assess damage and needs for reconstruction; to maximize the use of United Nations capabilities in the renewal of Ukrainian energy system."
"It is also necessary to limit the membership and privileges of the terrorist state in the IAEA. There is a clear and understandable algorithm for this," the head of state said.
Also during the meeting, the parties focused on supporting the initiatives of Ukraine at the 77th session of the UN General Assembly.
"First of all, regarding the creation of a compensation mechanism for the consequences of the Russian aggression, the launch of a special tribunal for the crime of Russian aggression against our country, as well as the situation with human rights in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine, with an emphasis on the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and Sevastopol," the press service said.
Also, special attention was paid to the acute issue of the forced detention of Ukrainian military and civilian prisoners by Russia.
The President of Ukraine recalled that more than 1,000 captives had already been released, but so far a large number of Ukrainians are in terrible conditions in the territory of Russia and in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine. The head of state noted the importance of international pressure for the speedy resolution of the issue of access for representatives of the UN and the International Committee of the Red Cross to these persons.
Another important topic of the meeting was global food security. Zelensky noted the role of the UN and the Secretary General personally in the implementation of the Grain Initiative, which provides food for millions of people in Africa, Asia and Europe. The parties noted the need to extend the grain agreement after November 19.
"The recent days show what it is possible. Yes, Russia is slowing down this process in every possible way in order to blackmail the world. But I think that we will all cope with this problem together," Zelensky said.
He stressed that, despite the full-scale aggression of Russia, Ukraine is ready to remain the guarantor of world food security.
"Ukraine saves the world – this is the slogan under which we will help the poorest. The first ship under the initiative should be released soon. We invite the countries of the world to join this important undertaking," the head of state said.
Вuring the meetingб there was also an exchange of views on specific steps to limit the ability of the aggressor state to abuse its membership in the UN.
