THE QUESTION IS IS THAT QUESTION
GETTING THROUGH TO PRESIDENT
PUTIN HIMSELF?
>> KEIR SIMMONS, THANK YOU.
JOINING ME IS THE AMBASSADOR,
PERMANENT REPRESENTATIVE TO
ESTONIA TO THE UNITED NATIONS
WHO WAS IN NEW YORK FOR THE
GENERAL ASSEMBLY MEETINGS AND
THE DEBATE OVER THAT RESOLUTION.
I WANT TO HEAR WHAT WE PLAYED
FROM THE U.S. REPRESENTATIVE OF
UKRAINE WHEN DISCUSSING VLADIMIR
PUTIN.
>> IF HE WANTS TO KILL HIMSELF,
HE DOESN'T NEED TO USE NUCLEAR
ARSENAL.
HE HAS TO DO WHAT THE GUY IN
BERLIN DID IN THE BUNKER IN MAY.
1945.
WE DO NOT ACCEPT THE RUSSIAN
LOGIC THAT THE SECURITY COUNCIL
WAS ENABLED TO ACT DUE TO
ONE-SIDED AND UNBALANCED
APPROACH.
THE ONLY GUILTY PARTY IS THE
RUSSIAN FEDERATION.
>>> UKRAINE'S AMBASSADOR HAS
BEEN VERY POINTED WITH HIS SHARP
COMMENTS TO THE RUSSIAN
AMBASSADOR WHEN HE WAS SITTING
AS PRESIDENT OF THE SECURITY
COUNCIL OF COURSE ON FRIDAY.
SO GIVE US A SENSE OF THIS
DEBATE AND THE IMPORTANCE OF
THIS RESOLUTION IN SUPPORT OF
UKRAINE.
>> WELL, THANK YOU, ANDREA, FOR
HAVING ME HERE.
I THINK THIS IS A MOMENT THAT
MOST U.N. MEMBER STATES
UNDERSTAND, THAT THIS IS A
DEFINING MOMENT FOR THE
ORGANIZATION.
ACTUALLY, THE FUTURE OF THE U.N.
CHARTER AND THE ORGANIZATION
ITSELF DEPENDS ON WHAT WE ARE
DOING RIGHT NOW.
IF YOU REMEMBER THE FALL OF THE LEAGUE OF NATIONS THAT WAS
LEAGUE OF NATIONS THAT WAS
CREATED AFTER THE FURST, THEN IT
FAILED BECAUSE SOVIET UNION AND
GERMANY ATTACKED POEMLANDLAND AN
FINLAND.
BUT WE ARE AT A 1939 MOMENT.
WHEN I LISTENED TO THE
SECRETARY-GENERAL, I THINK IN
THE HISTORY OF THE ORGANIZATION
THE SECRETARY-GENERAL OF THE
UNITED NATIONS HAS NEVER BEEN SO
CLEAR HOW DANGEROUS THE
SITUATION IS.
>> AND FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF
THE BALTIC STATES, NEWER MEMBERS
OF NATO AND CERTAINLY ON THE
FRONT LINES HERE, DO YOU HAVE
EVERYTHING THAT YOU NEED?
ARE YOU GETTING EVERYTHING YOU
NEED FROM GERMANY, FROM THE
U.S., FRANCE, U.K. IN TERMS OF
BUILT L BUILDING UP YOUR
MILITARY?
HOW WORRIED ARE YOU ABOUT THIS
SPILLING OVER?
>> I THINK AT THE MOMENT WE SEE
A REAL DEVELOPMENT OF
UNDERSTANDING WHERE WE ARE.
THE UNITY THAT WE ARE SEEING AT
THE MOMENT IS JUST SPECTACULAR.
I THINK THE POTENTIAL THAT
EUROPEAN UNION HAD FOR FOR
EXAMPLE, IT'S BEING VISIBLE NOW.
THIS IS A TIME FOR UNITY.
AND WE ARE SEEING THIS.
THERE ARE MASSIVE MOVES OF MORE
EQUIPMENT ALSO TO SUPPORT THE
EASTERN FLANK OF NATO AND WHEN
AND WE CAN RIGHT NOW SEE HOW
WRONG HE WAS.
THIS IS EXACTLY WHAT IS
HAPPENING RIGHT NOW ACTUALLY.
WHAT HE DIDN'T WANT TO SEE.
AND AT THE SAME TIME, YOU KNOW,
WE HAVE A MILITARY SUPPORT
COMING IN BUT THERE IS ALSO IF
YOU LOOK AT THE SANCTIONS AND
EVERYTHING, I THINK CAN YOU
REALLY DURING THE LAST FEW DAYS,
WE CAN SEE HOW MUCH PEOPLE
UNDERSTAND WHERE WE ARE.
I WAS A BIT FRUSTRATED A FEW
DAYS AGO OR A WEEK AGO WHEN WE
WERE TALKING ABOUT SANCTIONS AND
THERE WAS A LOT OF TALK HOW THE
SANCTIONS WILL HURT US AS WELL.
AND I WAS ALWAYS SAYING OF
COURSE IT WILL HURT US AS WELL.
BUT IF WE UNDERSTAND WHAT KIND
OF A DEFINING MOMENT IT IS, WE
HAVE TO REMEMBER WHAT WINSTON
CHURCH IM
CHURCHILL SAID IN 1939, HE PROMISED BLOOD, TOIL, SWEAT AND
PROMISED BLOOD, TOIL, SWEAT AND
TEARS BUT HE ALSO PROMISED WE
WILL REPPREVAIL.
WHEN I'M LOOKING AT THE U KRAN
UKRAINIANS WHO ARE FIGHTING And
DYING FOR ALL OF US AND AT THE
UNITED NATIONS, WHEN WE TALK
ABOUT UNITY, IT SHOULDN'T ONLY
BE AMONG COUNTRIES, BUT I THINK
WE ARE TOO POLARIZED, BOTH HERE
AND IN THE UNITED STATES BUT
ALSO IN MY HOME COUNTRY, IN
EUROPEAN COUNTRIES.
I THINK IN THIS KIND OF A
SITUATION, WE HAVE TO UNDERSTAND
SMALL VICTORIES THAT ARE SO
NORMAL IN A NORMAL DEMOCRATIC
SITUATION, WE SHOULD FORGET THEM
AND STAND UNITED AGAINST A GREAT
EVIL.
>> WE'VE SEEN A BIG CHANGE IN
POLICY IN GERMANY ARMING UKRAINE
AND NOW SWITZERLAND AGREEING TO
THE FINANCIAL SANCTIONS,
SOMETHING THEY'VE NEVER DONE
BEFORE.
NOW ZELENSKYY HAS POSTED A
PICTURE OF HIM SIGNING AND
POSTING HIS APPLICATION FOR EU
MEMBERSHIP.
I KNOW HE IS YEARS AWAY FROM
NATO MEMBERSHIP, THE CONSENSUS
THERE.
WHAT DOES HE HAVE TO DO TO GET
EU MEMBERSHIP?
>> WELL, EU MEMBERSHIP FINALLY
IS A LONG PROCESS.
WE WENT THROUGH THIS.
EU IS A VERY COMPLICATED
ORGANIZATION.
BUT AT THE MOMENT WHAT I THINK
IS REALLY NECESSARY IS TO GET A
STRONG SIGNAL FROM THE EUROPEAN
UNION THAT UKRAINE IS WELCOME IN
THE EUROPEAN UNION, TO START THE
PROCESS.
IF WE REMEMBER THEN ACTUALLY IN
2014 WHERE IT ALL STARTED WAS
THAT THE UKRAINIAN PEOPLE WANTED
TO HAVE A UNIONEUROPEAN PERSPECT
AND IT WAS PRESSURE FROM MOSCOW,
TOOK A STEP BACK AND FINALLY
THAT LED TO EVERYTHING THAT WE
ARE SEEING RIGHT NOW.
BUT AT THE SAME TIME, WHAT
RUSSIA ALSO HAS TO UNDERSTAND IN
THIS CONTEXT IS THAT WHEN THEY
DON'T WANT NATO TO MOVE CLOSER
TO THEIR BORDERS, THEN ACTUALLY
NATO IS NOT MOVING ANYWHERE.
IT'S COUNTRIES WHO WANT TO JOIN.
I WAS AMBASSADOR IN WASHINGTON
FROM 2000 TO 2003 AND TRYING TO
CONVINCE WASHINGTON AND ALSO
OTHER NATO MEMBERS TO ACCEPT US
AS A NATO MEMBER.
AND I REMEMBER HOW HARD IT WAS
TO FIGHT EVEN THE LANGUAGE WHEN
PEOPLE WERE TALKING ABOUT NATO
EXPANSION.
IT WAS NOT NATO EXPANSION, IT
WAS NATO ENLAURJMENT BECAUSE KRS
AND PUTIN HAS TO LOOK INTO THE
MIRROR AND ASK HIMSELF WHY DO ALL HIS NEIGHBORS WANT TO JOIN?
ALL HIS NEIGHBORS WANT TO JOIN?
AND IF YOU LOOK AT THEAROUND
RUSSIA, RUSSIA HAS BAD RELATIONS
WITH ALL ITS NEIGHBORS.
NOT ONE OF THEM, NOT TWO OF
THEM, NOT EVEN THREE OF THEM.
THE ONLY COUNTRY THAT WE COULD
SAY MAYBE THEY HAVE NORMAL
RELATIONS IS A COUNTRY THAT IS
NOT EVEN SOVEREIGN ANYMORE AND
THAT IS BELARUS.
HOW MUCH OF A SOVEREIGN COUNTRY
IS BELARUS AT THE MOMENT?
BUT I THINK FOR NORMAL SUCCESS
FOR THE EUROPEAN UNION, IT IS A
VERY LONG PROCESS.
BUT I THINK UKRAINIANS HAVE GOT
THIS RIGHT, THEY HAVE EARNED THE
RIGHT WITH THE HEROIC FIGHT THEY
ARE DOING RIGHT NOW, THEY HAVE
EARNED THE RIGHT WITH THEIR
BLOOD.
>> WELL, AMBASSADOR, YOUR
PERSPECTIVE IS SO IMPORTANT.
THANK YOU.
I SHOULD JUST POINT OUT THERE'S
JUST BEEN REPORTED POLAND'S
FOREIGN MINISTER HAS TWEETED
THAT THEY SUPPORT THE ASCENSION