President Zelenskyy’s address at the Ukraine — Southeast Europe Summit

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy delivered his address at the Ukraine — Southeast Europe Summit on June 11, and we’re now posting the text of his speech, as taken from the President’s Office website.

Welcome everybody!

So, dear colleagues, ladies and gentlemen, dear friends, I sincerely thank each of you for being here today in Odesa. And thank you that we started your visit to our summit from a very heroic place where we can see our heroic people and our patriots from Odesa. Thank you very much for this moment.

Odesa is a very important city for all of us and not just a symbol of southern Ukraine; it’s a crossroads between Northern and Southern Europe, between the Balkans and the Caucasus, and between European stability and the threats to undermine it. Odesa has always been a gateway and today stands as a gateway to our shared security.

The security of Southeastern Europe and the Black Sea is indivisible. And this has been obvious to Ukraine since 2014 and became clear to the entire continent in 2022. Yet, even today, we are compelled to fight not only for our country but to ensure this reality becomes the cornerstone of a new regional policy.

And I am pleased to welcome the following leaders here today in Odesa: Presidents of Moldova, Maia Sandu; Montenegro, Jakov Milatović; Romania, Nicușor Dan; Serbia, Aleksandar Vučić; Prime Ministers of Bulgaria, Rossen Jeliazkov; Croatia, Andrej Plenković; and the Hellenic Republic, Kyriakos Mitsotakis; and the Speaker of the Parliament of Albania, Elisa Spiropali; and First Deputy President of the Government and Minister of Environment and Physical Planning of North Macedonia, Izet Mexhiti; and Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign and European Affairs of Slovenia, Tanja Fajon.

Our today’s agenda will cover the following issues: regional security, resilience to hybrid threats, bolstering trade and transport networks, energy security, demining, post-war reconstruction, rehabilitation, health improvement, and support of military personnel, children and veterans.

Dear friends, dear leaders,

I’m glad to welcome you to our very beautiful city, to Odesa, again, and we continue our regular meetings with the countries of Southeastern Europe.

Sadly, our region is one of Russia’s main targets – main targets for causing chaos. We’ve seen this before – across the Balkans, where Russia fueled ethnic tensions, sabotage, and even coup attempts. We’ve witnessed attempts to manipulate public opinion in Romania, with Moscow’s involvement. And for three decades now, Russia has tried to keep Moldova in poverty and instability, to bring it fully under its control. If Europe loses in Moldova this year, it will embolden Russia to interfere even more in your countries – taking from you your resources, your sovereignty, even your history. That’s why supporting a European Moldova – not pro-Russian or oligarchic forces – is a critical task for all of us. And the same goes for Ukraine. Moscow doesn’t see Ukraine as a country, just as a pile of resources and a military staging ground for its next invasions. We all in the region are dealing with the same source of destruction.

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