Zelenskyy: We must all work together to remove threats in Strait of Hormuz
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stressed the need for joint action by the international community to protect the Strait of Hormuz, as the decisions being made now will affect the security of global shipping and the behaviour of aggressive actors in the future.
He said this during an online meeting on freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz, Censor.NET reports.
Need for joint action
"We must all work together to remove threats in the Strait of Hormuz in a way that will help protect freedom of navigation around the world. The decisions made on Hormuz now will determine how other aggressive actors perceive the possibility of creating problems in other straits and on other fronts. We must be as specific and clear as possible so that in six months we do not find ourselves in the same situation as in Gaza, where much remains to be done: security there is still largely unstable, reconstruction has effectively not begun, and many humanitarian problems remain unresolved," the head of state said.
Zelenskyy noted that in Hormuz, there are security tasks that cannot be resolved by political decisions alone.
"First, we need to define what exactly in Hormuz depends on all of us and what depends on the United States. It is also important to involve the countries of the Middle East in such a way that their shared interests are taken into account. The key principle is that after the war, security must be strengthened, not weakened," the president said.
Ukraine's experience
Second, according to Zelenskyy, it is necessary to organise a meeting of our military commands as soon as possible and work through all the critical aspects of how a security mission in Hormuz could operate and what experience each side could offer. He noted that Ukraine had already carried out a very similar mission in the Black Sea.
In addition, the head of state recalled that Russia had also tried to block our sea, and Ukraine has experience in escorting merchant vessels, demining, protection against air attacks, and the overall coordination of such operations.
"Ukrainians are already working in the Gulf region on air security. We can also contribute to security at sea," Zelenskyy added.
Background
- As a reminder, it was previously reported that Iran had opened the Strait of Hormuz for the duration of the ceasefire in Lebanon.
- At the same time, US President Donald Trump stated that the United States will continue the naval blockade despite the opening of the Strait of Hormuz to commercial shipping. It will apply only to Iran. Trump also stated that Washington does not need the help of the "useless" NATO.
