On February 17, the UN Security Council held a meeting on "Threats to International Peace and Security" in New York. During the meeting, Deputy Permanent Representative of Ukraine to the United Nations Khrystyna Haiovyshyn made a statement on Russia's systematic violations of international agreements. On behalf of Ukraine, she called for the establishment of effective mechanisms for monitoring future agreements.
This was reported by the Permanent Mission of Ukraine to the UN.
"Today's meeting is a reminder of how the Russian Federation treats the agreements it signs. The Minsk agreements are just one of many examples," Haiovyshyn said.
She recalled that exactly three years ago, in this very room, the Ukrainian delegation and representatives of other Security Council member states expressed concern about the build-up of Russian troops near Ukraine's border and calls in the Russian parliament for recognition of the occupied territories of Donbass as so-called "republics".
"Russia assured the Security Council that there was no alternative to the Minsk agreements, and in a few days it destroyed them. On February 21, the Kremlin recognized the 'independence' of the occupied parts of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions, and on February 24 it launched a full-scale invasion," the diplomat stressed.
Haiovyshyn also stressed that Russia has been systematically violating the Minsk agreements since they were signed in 2014. She cited several examples:
Paragraph 4 of the September 5, 2014 protocol provided for the creation of a security zone on the border between Ukraine and Russia. However, Russia ignored this point while denying its involvement in the conflict.
Paragraph 9 of the Memorandum of September 19, 2014, signed by Russia, called for the withdrawal of all foreign troops and equipment from the territory of Ukraine under OSCE supervision. This, too, remained unfulfilled.
A week after the signing of the Third Minsk Document, on February 12, 2015, Russian troops and their proxies launched an offensive on Debaltseve and captured the city.
"Ukraine has made unprecedented efforts to find a peaceful solution and has put forward numerous proposals. Instead, Russia has deliberately sabotaged the process and used every pretext to block it," the Ukrainian representative said.
She also recalled Russia's recent attack on the shelter for the fourth reactor at the Chornobyl nuclear power plant, which she said had brought the world once again to the brink of a nuclear catastrophe.
In conclusion, Ms. Haiovyshyn stressed that future agreements with the Kremlin should include strong enforcement mechanisms, as weak agreements will not ensure real peace.
"Peace cannot be bought - especially not at the expense of international law, sovereignty and territorial integrity. We have no right to repeat the mistakes of the past, because the price of these mistakes is blood, suffering and destruction," she concluded.
Author: Danylo Pievchev