Berlin (Times Of Ocean)- Ukrainian President Zelenskyy called on German lawmakers to show leadership by strengthening support for Kyiv.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Thursday Russia’s war on Ukraine aims to create a new Berlin Wall, but this time in the heart of Europe.
During video call to the German parliamentary assembly, Zelenskyy warned that the war might lead to a newly divided Europe.
“Maybe not everyone is aware of this. But you may find yourselves once again behind the wall,” he said, addressing the lawmakers who remember the Cold War-era Berlin Wall, which came down in 1989.
“Not the Berlin Wall, but in the heart of Europe, where there is freedom. This wall is getting stronger with every bomb that falls on our soil in Ukraine, with every decision that isn’t made,” he added.
During his speech, Zelenskyy urged Germany to show leadership by providing stronger support the the Ukrainian people.
“Chancellor (Olaf) Scholz, tear down this wall!” he stressed, echoing 1987 remarks by the late Ronald Reagan, who was then US president. “Show leadership. Please help us to stop this war.”
Zelenskyy also criticized Germany’s cautious policy towards Russia in recent years, and its reluctance to cut dependence on gas import from Russia.
“We always said Nord Stream 2 is a weapon. It’s for the preparation of a big war. And what reply did we get? This is business, business, business,” he said, referring to the controversial gas pipeline project, running under the Baltic Sea, and bypassing Ukraine.
Germany had long resisted calls to abandon Nord Stream 2, claiming it was purely a commercial project, and suspended the project only after Russia recognized the two separatist regions of Ukraine as independent states last month.
Zelenskyy’s speech to the German Bundestag follows his speeches to the US Congress, the British House of Commons, and the Canadian Parliament in which he argued that his country needs more assistance against the Russian military.
Zelenskyy has called for more military aid and a no-fly zone, emphasizing that a defeat for Ukraine would be a defeat for democracy.