Recognition…Fabrice Coffrini/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images
DAVOS, Switzerland – Speaking to members of the global business and political elite gathered at the World Economic Forum on Monday, Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called for major efforts to rebuild his country and invited international companies avoiding Russia to join to settle in Ukraine.
Via video link, Mr Zelensky pledged that the corruption and system that previously produced oligarchs would be rooted out and that Ukraine would be an attractive place for international business after the war ended.
Mr. Zelensky, whose remarks were projected into the forum’s main hall filled with hundreds of people, wore his now signature khaki T-shirt but sounded less combative and more calibrated than in some previous video speeches, tailoring his message to his audience as he did has been doing for months.
“It is necessary to set a precedent so that your marks are not associated with war crimes,” he said. “We offer any company leaving the Russian market to continue in Ukraine.”
The Ukrainian government has sent representatives to the gathering in Davos, Switzerland, he added, who “could update you all on the business prospects.”
He also called on world powers to help Ukraine get its grain into the world market to avert a food crisis and warned that Russia was smuggling wheat and other food products out of the country and trying to sell them on the open market . A failure to open Ukrainian ports and move grain would be felt around the world, he warned.
As the war nears the three-month mark, Mr Zelensky said he was concerned that the momentum and unity behind Ukraine was crumbling and urged the assembly “not to lose that sense of unity,” adding : “This blow is what the leadership of the Russian Federation feels most.”
“I wish each of you would wake up in the morning with this thought: ‘What have I done for Ukraine today?'” he said.
He received a thunderous standing ovation.
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