Russia is fueling a dangerous arms race by promoting its nuclear arsenal, the Ukrainian president denounced on Saturday. Volodymyr Zelensky was speaking during a video intervention at the Doha Forum, hosted by Qatar, as the war in Ukraine has dragged on for more than a month.
“They boast that they can destroy with nuclear weapons not only a particular country, but also the entire planet,” said Volodymyr Zelensky, implying that this encouraged other countries to acquire atomic weapons. The Ukrainian president also called on Qatar, a major exporter of liquefied natural gas, to increase its production to counter Russian threats to use the energy “to blackmail the whole world”.
When Ukraine dismantled its nuclear stockpile in the 1990s, it received “security guarantees from the most powerful countries in the world”, including Russia, Volodymyr Zelensky said in a message translated into English. “One of the countries supposed to give one of the most important security guarantees has started to work against Ukraine, and this is the ultimate manifestation of injustice,” he denounced.
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Moscow said this week that nuclear weapons would only be used in Ukraine in the event of an “existential threat” against Russia, with Westerners deeming “very credible” an attack or a chemical or nuclear incident caused by Russian bombing.
“I ask you to increase energy production”
NATO responded by announcing that it would provide Ukraine with protective equipment against chemical, biological and nuclear threats.
Before an audience that included the Emir of Qatar, Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani, Volodymyr Zelensky also called on the Gulf country to increase its gas production, as Europeans currently depend on Russian exports despite sanctions against Moscow. “The future of Europe depends on your efforts”, insisted the Ukrainian president. “I ask you to increase energy production so that everyone in Russia understands that no one can use energy as a weapon to blackmail the whole world,” he said.
European countries, seeking to do without Russian oil and gas, are trying to find alternative suppliers, starting with Qatar, an important partner of the United States in the Middle East.