Statement by Permanent Representative Vassily Nebenzia at UNGA under agenda item "The situation in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine"
Mr.President,
Secretary-General,
Let me start by making a small clarification. The agenda item for this meeting seems to be named incorrectly. To better reflect the reality, we need to talk not about “temporarily occupied territories”, but rather about territories that have been lost because of man-hating policy that Kiev raised to the level of national idea after the illegal coup of 2014 -- especially with regard to those who disagreed with the coup. When the current regime came to power with connivance of Western sponsors, it embarked on ethnicity-based systemic infringements of fundamental human rights.
We understand that today’s discussion will center around Russia’s decision to recognize the People’s Republic of Donetsk and the People’s Republic of Lugansk – today’s headline-maker. There are many speculations and insinuations around this decision.
Let me underscore that what happened was a direct consequence of Kiev sabotaging for many years its direct obligations under the Minsk Package that was endorsed in UNSC resolution 2202. Since its adoption in February 2015, Russia has remained committed to this hard-won internal Ukrainian compromise. We did everything possible to preserve sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine. We called numerous Security Council meetings, held Arria-formula discussions, participated meaningfully in the work of the Normandy Format and Minsk Contact Group, discussed the situation in Ukraine at the OSCE. We did it given that Russia was never a side to the Minsk Process.
Yet all was in vain. Kiev spent eight years bombing its nationals and evading direct dialogue with Donbas (which it is still doing now), while also managing to “fool” the international community by proclaiming its commitment to the Minsk Agreements and readiness to implement them, but in a very particular interpretation. Kiev basically sabotaged the work of the Contact Group in Minsk. Most of you have no idea what those meetings looked like, and how Ukrainian representatives undermined the decision-making not only on political, but also on economic and humanitarian issues.
Lately though Ukrainian leaders stopped shying away and publicly stated that they were not going to meet their obligations. What became the last straw was perhaps the fact that Ukrainian Ambassador to the UN confirmed this approach during UNSC meeting on Ukraine that we convened on 17 February, and our Western sponsors did not even call on Ukraine to comply with Minsk. It became obvious that there were no prospects that Kiev might still implement this document.
Because of Kiev’s unwillingness to account for the interests of broader population, Ukraine has been at war with its population who do not accept the “Maidan values” and current policy of Ukraine’s authorities. As for Ukraine’s Western sponsors, they have done nothing to make Kiev listen to its people, thus demonstrating blatant double standards. In any other crisis situation, UN member states call on the conflicting sides to embark on a direct inclusive dialogue, otherwise conflict cannot be settled. But it is the direct opposite with Ukraine. The cornerstone of the Minsk Package is direct dialogue between Kiev and Donbas, and Kiev has been sabotaging that provision all the time.
To our regret, Secretary-General of the UN recently and also today made several statements regarding the developments in the east of Ukraine. Those statements do not meet his status and authorities as defined by the UN Charter. We did some research looking up statistics and previous files and discovered no conflict that made the current SG or his predecessors address such words to a member state. Specifically on Ukraine, the Secretary-General never spoke up to stress the need for implementing provisions of the Minsk Package or UNSCR 2202 that demand that all problems must be solved through Kiev-Donetsk-Lugansk coordination. No one in the West ever mentioned this and unfortunately, the Secretary-General chose to follow suit. This said, we do not quite understand what good offices that the Secretary-General talked about he can actually offer.
Crimea, Donetsk, and Lugansk declared independence back in 2014. Crimea was luckier – its population spoke out in favor of reunifying with Russia right away and got under the protection of Russia. As for Donetsk and Lugansk, Germany and France promised them a fair settlement, and they had to wait 8 long years before we recognized them. Throughout that time, there was a glimmer of hope that Kiev might come to senses and start a dialogue with its people. The Maidan authorities however had no such plans. In the course of those 8 years they carried out two appalling deadly military ventures that ended in a crushing defeat of the Ukrainian army by the rebels and signing of the Minsk Agreements. Instead of implementing the accords, Kiev plotted plans for a revenge, while proceeding with bombardments of residential quarters and sabotage activities.
We also need to be mindful that over those years Ukraine has turned into “Anti-Russia” and raised its fight against the Russian language and everything Russian to the level of state policy. Language inquisition emerged in the country, the area of application of the Russian language was inexorably shrinking and faced repression. During his election campaign, President Zelensky masqueraded as a peacekeeper and advocate of interests of all Ukrainians, but it was during his tenure that six opposition TV channels were shut down. Lies about the Second World War was and is actively spreading, Hitler’s accomplices were turned into heroes, whereas true heroes passed into oblivion. All those who disagreed with such policies were persecuted, subjected to repressions, legal prosecution and violence, including killings of opposition politicians and journalists.
Donetsk and Lugansk clearly saw what Ukraine they were offered to get back to. Nevertheless, they never defied the Minsk Agreements, they believed they would be implemented and the two regions would receive special status. As it turned out, those hopes were not destined to come true.
Today everyone knows the terrifying statistics – the conflict claimed 14 thousand lives, among which hundreds of children. The majority of them are people from Donetsk and Lugansk. All these years, Donbas has been under an economic, transportation, and food blockade. Elderly people and children hide from shells in basements. Refugee count - I stress that people are seeking refuge in Russia, and not in Ukraine - stands at dozens of thousands these past days, most specifically – 96 thousand people as of now.
In is self-evident to any civilized state that you cannot do such things to your people. It means that Kiev does not need the people of Donbass, it only wants their land. President Zelensky overtly said that, offering the people of Donbas to get out to Russia. The authorities in Kiev disdainfully call them terrorists. Once we made sure that the situation was truly hopeless, we took the decision that the people of Donbas have a right to consider themselves independent. All the rest you know.
Colleagues,
In the circumstances of a flagrant genocide and violation of the main human right – the right to life – our country could not stay indifferent to the fates of four million people of Donbas.
We were guided by the understanding that a human life is the supreme value. When you criticize us for this decision, you demonstrate total indifference to the lives of people in Donetsk and Lugansk, as Kiev and its Western patrons have been doing for the eight years of conflict. This conflict is not over. Bombardments of residential quarters of the two republics have not stopped. The West keeps nudging, encouraging, and arming Kiev. We must warn that now that Russian military will be monitoring the ceasefire upon request of Donetsk and Lugansk, no one is going to be too tolerant to the violators.
So I call on you to concentrate your efforts on calming Kiev down and dissuading it from further military ventures that might come at a cost for current Ukrainian authorities.
Thank you.
