Brazilian football legend, Pele has called on President Vladimir Putin to end his country’s invasion of Ukraine which has attracted widespread condemnation from several world leaders.
Ahead of Ukraine’s 2022 World Cup playoff semi-final against Scotland on Wednesday, Pele posted a message, on Instagram calling on
‘There is absolutely no justification for this continued violence.
‘This conflict is wicked, unjustifiable and brings nothing but pain, fear, terror and anguish.
“Wars only exist to separate nations, and there’s no ideology that justifies projectile missiles burying the dreams of children, ruining families and killing the innocent,” he said.
Pele recalled a meeting with Putin in 2017 and added: ‘The power to stop this conflict is in your hands. The same ones I shook in Moscow, at our last meeting in 2017.’
Meanwhile, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the Ukrainian President has reiterated his stance which opined that he could only talk with Vladimir Putin once the Russian President returns to the “real world” amid the ongoing war between Ukraine and Russia.
Zelensky said this via video call during a breakfast discussion at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.
Recall that Russia and Ukraine have been fighting for close to three months. As of today, several casualties have already been recorded as a result of the war.
Putin had ordered the invasion of Ukraine due to some political differences between both neighbouring countries.
‘Once the President is prepared to leave his bubble of this alternative reality into the real world and talk to us, understand that a lot of people are being killed, including civilians, perhaps then, will he understand that we should start talking and should put the end to this war that he launched, his country is waging against us,‘ Zelensky said.
Switzerland has also invited leaders from scores of countries and international organisations to a July conference on rebuilding Ukraine, President Ignazio Cassis told the World Economic Forum in Davos on Tuesday.