00:00Because I've had a very conciliatory, not surprisingly, message to the European Parliament there from Volodymyr Zelensky, talking live from
00:07Kyiv.
00:08Yes, there were two aspects to what he said.
00:11There was the thanking of the Europeans for their support all through those years.
00:19He talked at the very beginning.
00:21He said, we do feel that many Europeans care about what is happening, care about Ukraine.
00:30He really repeated over and over again how he was thankful for the support of the Europeans throughout those years,
00:39whether it was financial aid, military aid, and the fact that they never wavered even in the face of Russian
00:46aggression.
00:46And he insisted on the fact that that was one of the great achievements of the Europeans, this unity in
00:54supporting Ukraine from the beginning till now.
00:57And he insisted that they needed to be as determined right now as they were back when that full-scale
01:04invasion started.
01:06He also, in thanking Europe, also attacked the Russians.
01:12You mentioned that line that was pretty strong about Putin being a war itself.
01:18And he said that those who choose to support Vladimir Putin are choosing war.
01:25He also insisted that Russia had been showing contempt for Europe, that the attacks on Ukraine were also attacks on
01:33Europe, on Europe's way of life, on European principles, the fundamental values of Europe.
01:40But there was still, as Vladimir Zelensky does often, asking for more, asking to continue that support, asking to continue
01:51the sanctions against Russia, asking to continue and increase security guarantees.
01:57He said those were crucial.
01:59Continue with the financial aid.
02:01We've been discussing that 90 billion euro loan.
02:04He said that that would be very important for the Ukrainians and also this idea of giving a clear date
02:11to Ukraine as to when it would be able to join the European Union, saying if there is no date,
02:18Russia will try to block Ukraine and he will try to divide you.
02:22So a sort of love letter for thanking Europe for its support, but also saying you cannot stop here.
02:30You've done so much for us for these past four years, but we need you to do more.
02:34Where he perhaps chose his words a little bit more carefully was when he talked about the U.S.
02:39He admitted, didn't he, it's not easy to maintain the transatlantic link.
02:43Yes, he said two things that were very important when it comes to the United States when he was talking
02:48about how he he believed that Europe needed to keep being as united and as determined as they were on
02:55the first day.
02:56And he added a line, he said, not only together Europeans, but also, yes, with America, because there's a lot
03:06of talk about how Europe moves forward.
03:10Do they have to do without American support and simply go and do it alone?
03:16Or do they have to hold on to that American support, the American, the transatlantic alliance?
03:24And Vladimir Zelensky acknowledged, he said it will not be an easy task to maintain that transatlantic relation in this
03:34context, in this geopolitical context, given all those challenges.
03:38So a very subtle way to talk about the changes in the U.S. support for Ukraine, the U.S.
03:47support for the European, the transatlantic alliance.
03:50So a message there to the Europeans that you need to do more.
03:54You need still, yes, the United States.
03:57And yes, it's going to be complicated because with Donald Trump, though he never named him, he insisted that basically
04:06you could not go it alone.
04:07He could not do it without the United States, no matter how the United States has changed over these past
04:14few years.
04:14So a very subtle hint at the situation with the Americans without directly criticizing anything from the U.S.
04:23because he knows, as the Europeans know, that the U.S. support is still very much crucial at this point.
04:31Ketavan, thanks very much.
04:32Ketavan Gordistani, International Affairs Editor, as you saw there.
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