UN Secretary-General António Guterres during his speech at the UN General Assembly in New York on February 22, 2023.
New York – Russia's war against Ukraine is an affront to the collective conscience of the international community. At the beginning of today's session of the UN General Assembly, the Secretary-General of this organization, António Guterres, said this. According to him, the Russian invasion violates the values on which the international community is built, as well as the UN Charter, AFP writes. He also condemned threats to use nuclear weapons by Russia.
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The General Assembly is debating the Russian invasion of Ukraine today and Thursday and is also expected to vote on a resolution on the conflict. Czech Foreign Minister Jan Lipavský will also speak in the debate.
“The first anniversary of Russia's invasion of Ukraine marks a dark milestone for both the Ukrainian people and the international community. This invasion is an affront to our collective conscience,” said the UN Secretary-General. According to him, there is a clear danger of further escalation of the conflict. In this sense, Guterres spoke about threats between the lines sent by Russia regarding the use of nuclear weapons, or about military operations at nuclear power plants.
The head of Ukrainian diplomacy, Dmytro Kuleba, called on the states to support Ukraine and also international law. “The choice is clear – either support the UN Charter or those who violate it,” he declared. In addition, he accused Russia of mass kidnappings of Ukrainian children, which he described as genocide.
The Russian ambassador to the UN, Vasily Nebenzya, said in his speech that Western countries are willing to drag the whole world into war just to inflict defeat on Russia. The head of EU diplomacy, Josep Borrell, who spoke after the Russian representative, in turn said that the “illegal war” in Ukraine is not a matter of a clash between the West and Russia, but concerns the whole world.
Representatives of the member states should on Thursday to vote on a resolution that expresses support for Ukraine's territorial integrity, demands the immediate withdrawal of the Russian army from Ukrainian territory, and calls for an end to the fighting. The draft resolution also calls for the prosecution of perpetrators of war crimes in Ukraine at the national and international levels. However, he does not mention the possibility of creating a special international tribunal.
The General Assembly has already approved three resolutions on the Russian invasion, which received a majority of at least 140 votes. Five countries, including Russia, Belarus, the DPRK and Syria, consistently vote against. About 40 states have abstained from voting in the past.
