President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy has called on the world leaders to work together to reduce the number of wars in the world. He expressed hope that his today's speech at the General Debate of the 74th session of the UN General Assembly would contribute to this.
"Honestly, I would really like to call this speech “15 minutes that changed the world”. But I am well aware that changing something that has existed for thousands of years is simply impossible in 15 minutes. And behavioral theories say that war is an integral part of human nature,” the Head of State said.
“But the world is changing and people are changing with it,” he added.
"And if we once learned writing, mathematics, invented the wheel, penicillin and conquered space, humanity still has a chance. Being aware of danger for civilization, we must generate other meanings. And fight for a new human mentality where aggression, anger and hatred will be atrophied feelings,” Volodymyr Zelenskyy urged.
The President quoted the preface to Erich Maria Remarque's novel “All Quiet on the Western Front” which the author described as "an attempt to tell about a generation crippled by war. About those who fell victim to it, even fleeing shells". He also referred to Ernest Hemingway's "A Farewell to Arms", which stated: "War cannot be won by victories. The one who wins the war never stops fighting...”.
"The world must remember: every next crippled generation is a path to a new war. Which is impossible, just impossible to win with victories,” the Head of State stressed. He expressed hope that the global community was aware of all the threats of today.
"Someone says now: “There will be no World War III. It will be the last one”. I hope this phrase is an awareness of the threat to the planet, not an announcement,” Volodymyr Zelenskyy said.
The President also assured that Ukraine supported the realization of all ambitious priorities of this year's Assembly. Volodymyr Zelenskyy expressed hope that through his participation in the session he would be able to tell the world about the problems and troubles of his native country and his people.
