Ukraine wants UN to broker Mariupol evacuation with Russia
Ukraine’s foreign minister is urging the United Nations Secretary General to press Russia on Tuesday for an evacuation of the besieged port of Mariupol, calling it something the world body is capable of achieving.
Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said in an interview on Monday he was concerned that by visiting Moscow before traveling to Kyiv, UN chief Antonio Guterres could be vulnerable to falling into a Kremlin “trap” in the war.
“Many other foreign officials were trapped visiting Moscow and played around just to show the supremacy of Russian diplomacy and how great they are and how they dictate the world how to behave,” he said.
Guterres “should focus primarily on one issue: evacuation of Mariupol," Kuleba said, referring to the the seaside city where an estimated 100,000 people are trapped while a contingent of Ukrainian fighters hold out against Russian forces in a steel mill where hundreds of civilians also are taking shelter.
"This is really something that the UN is capable to do. And if he demonstrates political will, character and integrity, I hope that will allow us to make one step forward,” he said.
Kuleba said he appreciated "everything that has been done" by foreign countries to assist Ukraine.
"We understand that, for some, what has been done is already a revolution, but this is not enough as long as the war continues."
“It’s not because Ukrainians are greedy, it’s not because we want to grasp the opportunity and get as much as we want. No, it’s because we need to win this war,” he said.
In his Monday interview, Kuleba emphasized the need for the West to speedily provide weapons needed by Ukraine to win the war and stop Russian President Vladimir Putin from going “deeper into Europe.”
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