President: The Russian Federation must be put in place – start with depriving it of its veto right in the UN Security Council
20.02.2019 21:36 | Press office of President
At the United Nations General Assembly Debate on agenda item 67 “The situation in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine”, President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko emphasized that Russia must must be put in place starting with depriving it of its veto right in the UN Security Council, at least when it comes to issues related to the Russian aggression against Ukraine.
“Ukraine is a peace-loving nation with no expansionary plans or territorial claims. No inch of Russia’s sovereignty and territorial integrity was violated by us. Utmost respect for the UN Charter and for the OSCE Helsinki principles has been the foundation of our foreign policy since independence,” the President emphasized.
The President recalled that in December 1994 in Budapest, Ukraine gave up the third largest arsenal of nuclear weapons in the world in exchange for security assurances. In 2014, however, the Ukrainian goodwill was repaid by a stab in the back by one of the signatories of the Budapest Memorandum – the Russian Federation.
“By resorting to the military aggression against Ukraine, Russia violated all possible fundamental norms and principles of international law, including the UN Charter. The Charter, which entrusts Security Council members to uphold international peace and security instead of unleashing conflicts throughout the world,” Petro Poroshenko said.
The President emphasized: “So what could the international community do as regards Russia? For instance, in 1939, for its aggressive behavior, Moscow was expelled from the League of Nations – a right and justified move. Maybe it is time to put Russia in its place – start with depriving it of its veto right, at least when it comes to issues related to the Russian aggression against Ukraine?”
The Head of State recalled that in March 2015, he requested the UN Security Council to deploy in the territory of Ukraine a peacekeeping operation under the mandate of the UN Security Council to bring peace to Ukraine and work out a long-lasting solution to the Russian aggression. However, this initiative was blocked by Russia.