Pakistan backs global efforts to end Russia-Ukraine war, urges restraint

• Fatemi says conflict can’t be solved by force.
• War causing global food and energy shocks.
• Urges patience and tolerance from both sides.

UNITED NATIONS: Pakistan supports every international effort to end the war between Russia and Ukraine, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Foreign Affairs Tariq Fatemi told the UN Security Council on Tuesday.

“The conflict has dragged on for more than three and a half years and has taken a heavy toll on innocent lives,” Fatemi said. “No dispute can be settled by the use of force.”

He explained that Pakistan has backed Security Council resolutions on the war and will continue to do so.

“The fighting has already created a serious humanitarian crisis,” he warned. “It is also fuelling food and energy shortages and pushing up global inflation.”

Fatemi appealed to both Moscow and Kyiv to “show patience and tolerance” and to look for a negotiated way forward. “Pakistan stands ready to support any genuine move that can bring this conflict to an end,” he added.

The UN Secretary-General told the Security Council it’s important not to lose the “fragile diplomatic momentum” between Ukraine and Russia – and international mediators – over ending the war. 

He was briefing ambassadors in back-to-back meetings where calling for a ceasefire in Gaza, he said the “day after” war ends there, must be anchored in international law, rejecting any “ethnic cleansing” of Palestinians.

Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump has said that he believed Ukraine could retake all its land occupied by Russia and that Kyiv should act now, with Moscow facing “big” economic problems, in a sudden and striking rhetorical shift in Ukraine’s favour.