Zelensky calls establishment of peace, restoration of country's sovereignty, territorial integrity as Ukraine's main foreign policy priority

Establishing peace, restoring the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine is the main foreign policy priority of Ukraine, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has said.

"Today our main foreign policy priority is the establishment of peace, the renewal of sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine within its internationally recognized borders. We are the country that is opposing the hybrid war of the Russian Federation. This is not only hostile actions against our independence, against Ukraine, it is a challenge to everything, we believe the civilized world community. That is why, in every case in all countries of the world where our diplomatic missions exist, they must raise the issue of the resumption of the territorial integrity of Ukraine and the return of Donbas and Crimea," Zelensky said at the plenary session "Strategic Priorities of Ukraine's Foreign Policy" within the conference of heads of foreign diplomatic institutions of Ukraine on Thursday.

He said the global coalition in support of Ukraine must be preserved, increased and strengthened. "Now we are working hard to ensure that the agreements of the leaders of the Normandy Four countries in Paris are implemented. Within an hour of the meeting, we managed to return almost 100 our citizens from captivity. We also manage to ensure the longest ceasefire in all the years of this war. The final task is to end the war and ensure peace on our terms, on the terms of an independent Ukraine," the head of state said.

Zelensky said the issue of further continuation of sanctions against Russia remains on the agenda, and further work on bringing Russia to legal responsibility for violation of international law is also fundamentally important.

"I ask you to also actively work to involve the help of our partners to the restoration of Donbas. Today we must think about how to return order and peace to peaceful Donbas," the president said.

He said that this task is not only for the ambassadors of Ukraine in Berlin and Paris. "This is the task for almost every ambassador, every representative of Ukraine to an international organization. Someone's country can help financially, someone can help politically, somewhere there were historical examples of reconciliation and the implementation of post-war reconstruction, and some countries still have faced these conflicts for now," Zelensky said.