11th Emergency Special Session of the UN General Assembly
Statement delivered by H.E. Rein Tammsaar, Permanent Represnetative of Estonia
24 February 2025, New York
President
Today, we mark 3 years since Russia launched an unprovoked and unjustified full-scale brutal war against Ukraine. This act of aggression is not only a vicious attack against an independent and sovereign Ukraine, but against the international law and the global peace, the UN Charter, global non-proliferation regime. Moreover, all this is having devastating effects to global food and energy markets in many parts of the world.
Unfortunately Russian goals vis-a-vis Ukraine have not changed: to finish off Ukrainian nation and to erase sovereign Ukraine from the map, a plan which started back in 2014. I recall that Kremlin has repeatedly denied the legitimacy of the Ukrainian state and its right to exist and is increasingly desperate to remove democratically elected president Zelensky from power. War crimes, huge number of civilian deaths, grave human rights violations, thousands of deported Ukrainian children, total suffering and destruction that Russia has caused in Ukraine are a testament to those claims. Against all of the calls by Member States and numerous UNGA resolutions, Russia’s aggression continues. According to the UN, in January this year alone, Russia’s attacks caused almost 900 civilian casualties, including 21 children. Russia has continued shelling schools and hospitals, energy and food infrastructure and on top of this in February, struck with a war drone the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant in grave violation of the International Atomic Energy Agency´s Seven Indispensable Pillars.
Russia´s aggression is economically, politically and militarily supported by Iran, the DPRK and Belarus. Since last October, the DPRK has elevated its’ support by deploying troops to fight alongside Russian forces. This constitutes a major escalation, also indicating that Russia is suffering heavy casualties at the frontlines and is struggling to recruit fresh cannon fodder. And indeed, it has been estimated that at current pace Russia couldn’t occupy the whole territory of Ukraine until the year 2075. And even this would be unattainable goal, as the number of Russian soldiers left to rot in the black Ukrainian soil is growing every single day.
President,
The resolution adopted today by the vast majority of the UN member states in the General Assembly calls for a comprehensive, just and lasting peace in Ukraine, based on accountability, principles of the UN Charter and territorial integrity of Ukraine within its internationally recognized borders, extending to its territorial waters. I hope that the Security Council would be able to follow the example of the most democratic and authoritative body of the UN – this General Assembly.
Today, Estonia celebrates the 107th anniversary of our independence. We know only too well what losing freedom and independence means. The World War II ended with a peace deal that left Estonia and many other countries in Europe deprived of their independence and sovereignty and endure half a century of totalitarian Soviet oppression. This was not a just peace at all for us.
To avoid the mistakes of the past, we should not try to appease the criminal on the ICC wanted list and neglect the accountability for the crime of aggression, as this would only lead to new crimes and more bloodshed. Appeased dictators will always come back for more.
How to achieve just and lasting peace? Yulia Navalnaya, widow of the leading Russian opposition figure, Aleksey Navalny, who was starved and then killed by Kremlin in Siberian GULAG, recently warned: “There is no point to negotiate with Putin. He will lie, he will betray… If he remains in power, he will find a way to break the agreement. If he loses power, the agreement will become meaningless.”
So, the question really is how can one trust somebody who cheats and changes the rules of the game under the guise of “new realities” whenever suitable or beneficial? What is Putin´s legitimacy worth after 25 years of clinging to power, which have included regular and massive election fraud, physical elimination of political opponents, extensive violations of human rights, war crimes and extrajudicial killings, inter alia using chemical weapons? Only free and fair elections – which the Russian people can only dream about for last decades – would reveal the real support for the dictator. It’s quite clear his rating is not even close to what Kremlin´s propaganda honks.
It appears also relevant to repeat again loud and clear that when it comes to the so-called root causes of this war, it is Russia’s imperial and neo-colonial obsession with Ukraine and denial of Ukraine’s existence that unleashed its aggression. The root cause of the war in Ukraine is Putin´s unwillingness to accept the irreversibility of the collapse of the Soviet Union. So, let´s not succumb to the Russian propaganda: Russia is still an aggressor and Ukraine is still the victim of the aggression.
President,
The Member States who supported the resolution on just and lasting peace in Ukraine thereby supported the UN Charter, the international law and rejected spheres of influence and might makes right conduct in international relations. I want to thank you all for this! Together, we need to uphold the principles of the UN charter more than ever. We all need a comprehensive, just and lasting peace, not just a shady deal at the expense of Ukraine and the UN Charter. It is obvious that achieving just and lasting peace in Ukraine without Europe and Ukraine participating in the negotiations over the European Security architecture, is an illusion. And a dangerous one.
In conclusion, let me once again insist that Russia immediately, completely and unconditionally withdraws is military forces and mercenaries from the entire territory of Ukraine, within its internationally recognized borders. This would be the quickest way to peace. Until then, let me assure that Estonia is determined to continue supporting Ukraine by all means at our disposal. Supporting Ukraine’s right for self-defence, according to Article 51 of the UN Charter, is a right thing to do from the moral, legal and global security´s point of view.
I thank you
