DAVOS: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Tuesday that Europe should develop a joint defense policy and be willing to increase spending to guarantee its own security from emerging threats.
His comments to the World Economic Forum in Davos came a day after the inauguration of US President Donald Trump, who has demanded NATO members raise their defense spending and boasted he can end the war in Ukraine, without offering a clear roadmap.
Zelensky said Europe needed to be ready to stand on its own feet and must work to remain relevant as a 鈥渟trong global鈥� player and 鈥渋ndispensable鈥� on the global stage.
鈥淲e need a united European security and defense policy, and all European countries must be willing to spend as much on security as is truly needed,鈥� Zelensky argued in his address to the WEF.
鈥淓urope must be able to guarantee peace and security for itself,鈥� he added.
He evoked the Kremlin鈥檚 deployment of North Korean troops to western Russia to illustrate what he said were growing threats to European security.
鈥淓uropean leaders should remember this 鈥� battles involving North Korean soldiers are now happening in places geographically closer to Davos than to Pyongyang,鈥� he said.
And he pointed to a recent pact between Russia and Iran boosting their economic and military cooperation, saying the accord was an example of a changing landscape that was a threat to Europe.
鈥淲hom do they make such deals against? Against you, against all of us,鈥� he said. 鈥淪uch threats can only be countered together,鈥� he added.
Zelensky also questioned whether Trump was committed to NATO and European security, claiming that Washington has openly indicated their security priorities lie in the Middle East and in the Asia-Pacific region.
鈥淲ill President Trump even notice Europe? Does he see NATO as necessary? And will he respect EU institutions?鈥� Zelensky asked.