76th Session of the United Nations General Assembly
Joint Statement at the SC on threats to international peace and security (Ukraine)
Statement by H.E. Mr. Rytis Paulauskas, Permanent Representative of Lithuania of behave of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania
January 31, New York
I am delivering this statement on behalf of the Baltic States – Estonia, Latvia and my own country Lithuania.
Madam President,
Let me thank you for convening this meeting on such important issue and for granting an opportunity to speak.
Firstly, let me reiterate our countries’ unwavering support for Ukraine’s sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity within its internationally recognised borders.
We strongly condemn the clear violation of Ukrainian sovereignty and territorial integrity by acts of aggression by the Russian armed forces since February 2014.
We do not recognize and continue to condemn the illegal annexation of Ukraine’s Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the City of Sevastopol by Russia. We remain concerned over the increasing militarisation of the peninsula, the severe deterioration of the human rights situation there.
Let me add in this context, that we welcome the establishment of the International Crimean Platform launched at the kick-off Summit that took place on 23 August in Kyiv, and support the implementation of its Joint Declaration. We invite other UN members to join this initiative as well.
Madam President,
The conflict in Ukraine has claimed around 14 000 lives, displaced 1,5 million persons and has resulted in countless suffering on both sides of the contact line in eastern Ukraine.
We reiterate our full support to the efforts towards peaceful and sustainable resolution of this conflict, namely, in the Normandy format, the Trilateral Contact Group (TCG) and the OSCE, including its Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine.
Yet, despite all international efforts, until now we see little progress towards a resolution of this conflict. Ukraine’s constructive approach has not been reciprocated by Russia.
We condemn Russia’s continued aggressive actions and threats against Ukraine, and call on Russia to de-escalate the situation and to abide by international law.
We call on Russia to immediately stop fuelling the conflict by providing financial and military support to the armed formations it backs and to withdraw the Russian military troops and materiel from the eastern border of Ukraine and the Crimean peninsula.
Madam President,
Despite all the diplomatic efforts, Russia further escalates and continues military deployment around Ukraine’s borders. Moreover, Russian troops are deployed in Belarus as well. This adds-up to the current escalation and is of direct concern to us.
Kremlin continues to use a false narrative, that Russia is forced to defend itself from a threat, even as the opposite is true – it is Russia who is threatening Ukraine and other neighbours by positioning over 100 000 troops. Russia is not a victim as it attempts to portray itself – it is the aggressor strengthening its security at the expense of others. By its own actions in the Georgian breakaway regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia, the Transnistrian region, the illegal annexation of Crimea, Russia has contributed to a significant deterioration of security environment in Europe.
We reaffirm full commitment to the core principles of international security, enshrined in the UN Charter, founding documents of the OSCE, including the Helsinki Final Act and the Charter of Paris, and others. This includes notably the sovereign equality and territorial integrity of States; the inviolability of frontiers; refraining from the use of force. Their violation by Russia is an obstacle to a common and indivisible security space in Europe and threatens peace and stability on our continent.
Times of limited sovereignty in Europe are long gone. Notions of “spheres of influence” have no place in the 21st century. States have freedom to choose or change their own security arrangements. No third country has a veto right over the sovereign choices of independent and democratic states.
Madam President,
In response to the recent tensions, the EU has made clear in the December and January EU Council Conclusions that any further military aggression against Ukraine will have massive consequences and severe costs, including restrictive measures to be coordinated closely with our transatlantic partners.
Madam President,
We call on Russia to respect principles of UN Charter, deescalate and engage in a genuine dialogue.
It is our duty as members of the UN to defend the rules-based international system. Violation of its fundamental principles will have consequences for other parts of the world.
I thank you.
