Opening statement of Iceland’s PM of the Council of Europe currently being held in Iceland, for only the fourth time since its founding in 1949:

-Council reaffirms support for Ukraine, wants concrete measures against war crimes, and to strengthen the council’s role in protecting human rights

-Another goal is to nurture and protect human rights values throughout Europe

-Third goal is to recommit to Europe’s values to meet pressing global challenges, like the climate and biodiversity crisis, and the rise of AI.

Ukraine’s president Zelenskyy immediately follows, with:

-He mentions a Russian ballistic missile attack from this morning, thanks Europe for being able to shoot down “100 percent” of their missiles. He praises Europe as well as all Ukrainian soldiers.

-He also asks for more weapons, fighter jets, and help to build an air defence system that can bring Ukraine to “100 percent” victory, calls it the “only realistic peace plan” with “100 percent justice”, wants Russia to compensate Ukraine for the damages it caused, and wants a tribunal to bring “those who brought terror” to justice.

He ends with saying that “Europe has been waiting for this moment” where strong leaders stand up and are united, and that it will protect its way of life.

Note: Will keep sharing updates as the council continues, as far as the choppy livestream allows, and will put up a post about it this weekend. Excuse any small inaccuracies as I am typing along with the livestream.

Note: This is the first of multiple Notes about the opening session of the Council of Europe, you can read them all in descending chronological order by visiting my profile.