Colombia’s former President Juan Manuel Santos traveled to Ukraine to promote solidarity for the Eastern European country that was invaded by Russia’s military earlier this year.
Santos and former United Nations chief Ban-Ki Moon met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Kiev on Tuesday to express solidarity with the country that is being invaded by Russian troops.
Ahead of their meeting with Zelensky, Colombia’s only Nobel Peace Prize laureate and Ban-Ki Moon traveled to the city of Bucha to observe the destruction caused by Russian shelling.
Santos and Ban-Ki Moon made the visit on behalf of “The Elders,” which has been advocating global “peace, justice and human rights” since its foundation by late South African leader Nelson Mandela.
The Elders delegation traveled to Ukraine in response to the war that has killed at least 5,514 Ukrainian civilians of which at least 356 were children since the beginning of the invasion in February, according to the UN’s human rights office.
The world must do everything possible to help the people of Ukraine to live in peace, dignity and freedom, not only for all the lives that have already been lost, but for all those who continue to suffer.
Former President Juan Manuel Santos
The former president who signed peace with now-defunct guerrilla group FARC in 2016 also said that he sought to “keep the flame of peace alive.”
As Elders we are focused on ending and preventing wars, not winning them – our priority is to keep the flame of peace alive. I know from my own experience in Colombia that conflicts and their resolution are unpredictable, but the principle of a just and enduring peace cannot be forgotten.
Former President Juan Manuel Santos
In a statement that followed their meeting with Zelensky, The Elders’ delegation stressed that — despite their promotion of peace — they believe that “neutrality is not a moral option in the face of continued Russian aggression” in Ukraine.
Our visit to Bucha and Irpin left us in no doubt as to the appalling suffering Russia is inflicting on the Ukrainian people, and we condemn in the strongest terms the actions of Russian forces at these sites and elsewhere.
Former UN chief Ban-Ki Moon
Santos stressed the need to step of humanitarian aid for the allegedly 16 million Ukrainians who need immediate “access to humanitarian assistance,” particularly “in areas not controlled by the Government.”
Santos and Ban-Ki Moon in the city of Bucha. (Image: The Elders)
Neither Santos not Ban-Ki Moon expressed any plans to meet with Putin that would allow them to mediate an end of Russian aggression and a possible peace peace process between the two warring neighbors.
