New York, February 22 – UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said Russia’s recognition of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions in Ukraine amounts to a violation of that country’s sovereignty as well as the UN Charter. He said Russia’s military threats against Ukraine is the “biggest global peace and security crisis in recent years.”
“Let me be clear: the decision of the Russian Federation to recognize the so-called “independence” of certain areas of Donetsk and Luhansk regions is a violation of the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Ukraine,” Guterres told journalists at UN headquarters after cutting short his trip and meetings in Africa to return to New York.
“Such a unilateral measure conflicts directly with the principles of the Charter of the United Nations – and is inconsistent with the so-called Friendly Relations Declaration of the General Assembly which the International Court of Justice has repeatedly cited as representing international law.”
Guterres said Russia’s deployment of so-called peacekeeping troops to the two regions is a “perversion of the concept of peacekeeping. I am proud of the achievements of UN Peacekeeping in which so many Blue Helmets have sacrificed their lives to protect civilians.”
“When troops of one country enter the territory of another country without its consent, they are not impartial peacekeepers. They are not peacekeepers at all.”
“The United Nations, in line with the relevant Security Council and General Assembly resolutions, stands fully behind the sovereignty, political independence and territorial integrity of Ukraine, within its internationally recognized borders.
We are continuing to support the people of Ukraine through our humanitarian operations and human rights efforts,” Guterres said.
Russia’s military threats against Ukraine prompted the UN Security Council to hold an urgent meeting on February 21 at Ukraine’s request to discuss the situation regarding that country.
“The risk of major conflict is real and needs to be prevented at all costs,” Rosemary A. DiCarlo, the UN undersecretary general, told the 15-nation council. She said Russia’s decision was “in violation of Ukraine’s territorial integrity and sovereignty” and risks triggering regional and global repercussions.
“We also regret the order today to deploy Russian troops into Eastern Ukraine, reportedly on a ‘peacekeeping mission’”, she said, adding that the developments followed the decision to order “a mass evacuation of civilian residents of Donetsk and Luhansk into the Russian Federation”.
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