He stressed that Ukraine is not going to launch any offensive operation either in the zone of the Ukrainian-Russian armed conflict in Donbas or on the border with the Russian Federation. Ukraine will do everything possible in order to prevent any Russian provocations, he underscored.
According to Kyslytsya, the Ukrainian side calls for the Kremlin to confirm by practical actions Russia’s assurances that it has no intentions to invade Ukraine.
After the meeting, the Ukrainian Foreign Office made an announcement that no statements can substitute for real steps such, for instance, as the withdrawal of troops and a ceasefire. As for the Russian delegation’s reluctance to see Ukraine as a member of NATO, such a wish goes contrary to the sovereign and inalienable right of Ukraine to choose its own security measures which include treaties on alliance and strategic partnership which Russia has no right to put to question.
The special meeting of the UN Security Council was called on the initiative of the United States. The session addressed the issues concerning threats to international peace and security that come from Russia’s massing troops on the border with Ukraine. Most of the member-countries of the Security Council voted for holding such a meeting. Only Russia and China were against it. Moreover, the Russian Federation tried to disrupt the initiative of the United States to discuss the build-up of Russian military forces near Ukraine’s borders. Thus, Vasiliy Nebenzya, the Representative of the Russian Federation to the United Nations, called on all members of the Security Council to boycott such a meeting.
Despite Russian efforts to disrupt the meeting, its results demonstrated that the overwhelming majority of the member-states of the UN Security Council spoke against the unprecedented concentration of Russian offensive weapons, forces and military equipment on the Ukrainian-Russian border, the situation which is absolutely inadmissible.
For instance, American Ambassador to the UN, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, warned of dire consequences in the event of the invasion of Ukraine by Russian troops.
The Ambassador stressed that the UN Charter exists first of all to prevent conflicts from happening rather than discuss them after they have occurred.
“Russia’s aggression today not only threatens Ukraine. It also threatens Europe. It threatens the international order this body is charged with upholding,” Linda Thomas-Greenfield said.
The current international order stands for the principle that one country cannot simply redraw another country’s borders by force, or make another country’s people live under a government they did not choose.
The American Ambassador went on to say, “If Russia further invades Ukraine, none of us will be able to say we didn’t see it coming. And the consequences will be horrific, which is why this meeting is so important today.”
The idea of dividing the world into zones of influence has no place in the 21st century. “If Russia does not choose the path of dialogue and respect for international law, the response will be robust and united - any fresh infringement of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine by Russia will have massive consequences and a severe cost," French U.N. Ambassador Nicolas de Riviere told the council.
According to the French diplomat, Europeans are working on restrictive measures and together with their partners are ready to respond adequately. And if Russia chooses the path of dialog and mutual cooperation, the European Union stands ready to cooperate in order to develop further relations with the Russian Federation on the basis of a united, long-term and strategic approach.
Speaking at the Security Council meeting, James Kariuki, Deputy Permanent Representative of the United Kingdom to the UN, stressed that the military presence of Russia on the border with Ukraine is the largest build-up in Europe in decades. “Any Russian invasion or act of aggression against Ukraine would be a gross breach of international law and Russia’s commitments under the UN Charter,” he said.
Following the Security Council meeting in New-York, President Joe Biden said that the United States had presented in detail the full nature of Russia’s threat to Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity. “And we made clear to the international community the full implications of that threat – not just for Ukraine, but for core tenets of the UN Charter and the modern international order. If Russia is sincere about addressing our respective security concerns through dialogue, the United States and our Allies and partners will continue to engage in good faith.”
President Biden also underscored that if Russia decides to walk away from diplomacy and attack Ukraine, the consequences will be swift and severe. The head of the White House concluded, “The United States and our Allies and partners continue to prepare for every scenario. The world must be clear-eyed about the actions Russia is threatening and ready to respond to the risks those actions present to all of us. Today’s Security Council meeting is a critical step in rallying the world to speak out in one voice: rejecting the use of force, calling for military de-escalation, supporting diplomacy as the best path forward, and demanding accountability from every member state to refrain from military aggression against its neighbours.”
The newspaper Voice of Ukraine
