2 yıl önce

Ukraine-Russia conflict is a threat to all – New Zealand

Russian offensive on Ukraine is a reminder that “peace cannot be taken for granted” and has to “be preserved by the acts of leaders, and protected through the actions of citizens,” Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said.

AP

“It is a threat to the international laws that a nation like ours relies on – but it is also a threat to our sense of humanity. And that makes it a threat to all of us.”

Russia-Ukraine conflict is “a threat to all of us,” New Zealand’s prime minister has said, reiterating the need for the international community to strive for peace.

“The invasion of Ukraine is a senseless act of war, one that is taking the lives of innocent people,” Jacinda Ardern said at an Anzac Day event in Auckland on Monday.

“It is a threat to the international laws that a nation like ours relies on – but it is also a threat to our sense of humanity. And that makes it a threat to all of us.”

April 25 is known as Anzac Day in Australia and New Zealand, a national holiday that honors soldiers from Australia and New Zealand who fought and died in the Battle of Canakkale in Türkiye during World War I.

Raft of sanctions

Ardern said New Zealand and other countries may have “a great distance from this conflict, but we are all inextricably linked to what it represents.”

“New Zealand has a fiercely independent foreign policy, but that has never ever meant that we sit on the sidelines … And that is why, once again as conflict rages on the other side of the world, New Zealand is present,” she said.

Since the offensive began on February 24, New Zealand has imposed a raft of sanctions on Moscow, ranging from measures against its top financial institutions to import tariffs and trade curbs.

It has also pledged millions in military and legal aid for Ukraine, while also deploying military transport aircraft and support personnel to Europe.

The Ukraine war is yet another reminder that “peace cannot be taken for granted” and has to “be preserved by the acts of leaders, and protected through the actions of citizens,” she added.

“We must all do our part,” Ardern asserted.