YouSaid · the spoken record

Vladimir Putin

lines on the record: 46
first: 2015-09-24
most recent: 2020-09-24
sittings or episodes: 2
sources: un-general-debate

Every line below is reproduced as it was said and linked to the record it came from. Nothing here is summarised or generated. Directory · Search · Corrections

“I would like to reiterate that in an interrelated, interdependent world, amid the whirlpool of international developments, we need to work together drawing on the principles and norms of international law enshrined in the UN Charter. This is the only way for us to carry out the paramount mission of our Organization and provide a decent life for the present and future generations. I wish all the peoples of our planet peace and well-being. Thank you.”
2020-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 75 (2020)
“The permanent members of the UN Security Council — those powers that, for 75 years now, have been bearing particular responsibility for international peace and security, the preservation of the foundations of international law — should take the lead here. Fully realizing this responsibility, Russia has suggested convening a G5 summit. It would aim at reaffirming the key principles of behavior in international affairs, elaborating ways to effectively address today’s most burning issues. It is encouraging that our partners have supported the initiative. We expect to hold such summit — in person — as soon as epidemiological situation makes it possible.”
2020-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 75 (2020)
“In particular, Russia is putting forward an initiative to sign a binding agreement between all the leading space powers that would provide for the prohibition of the placement of weapons in outer space, threat or use of force against outer space objects. We are well aware of the fact that security issues as well as other problems discussed by this jubilee UN General Assembly call for consolidated efforts on the basis of values that unite us, our shared memory of the lessons of history, and the spirit of alliance which guided the anti-Hitler coalition participants who found it possible to raise above differences and ideological preferences for the sake of Victory and peace for all nations on the Earth. In the current challenging environment, it is important for all countries to show political will, wisdom and foresight.”
2020-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 75 (2020)
“I would like to add that as early as last year, Russia declared a moratorium on deploying ground-launched medium and short-range missiles in Europe and other regions as long as the United States of America refrains from such actions. Unfortunately, we have not received any reaction to our proposal from either our US partners or their allies. I believe that such reciprocal steps on specific issues would provide a sound basis for launching a serious, profound dialogue on the entire range of factors affecting strategic stability. It would aim at achieving comprehensive arrangements, shaping a solid foundation for the international security architecture that would build on prior experience in this field and in line with both the existing and future politico-military and technological realia.”
2020-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 75 (2020)
“For all the disputes and differences, at times misunderstanding and even distrust on the part of some colleagues, we will consistently advance constructive, uniting initiatives, first of all in arms control and strengthening the treaty regimes existing in this area. This includes the prohibition of chemical, biological and toxin weapons. The issue of primary importance that should and must be promptly dealt with is, of course, the extension of the Russia-US Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty, which will expire shortly, i.e. in February 2021. We are engaged in negotiations with our US partners on the matter. We also expect that mutual restraint would be exercised with regard to deploying new missile systems.”
2020-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 75 (2020)
“We have received requests from our UN colleagues in this respect, and we will respond to those. There are other critical items on today’s agenda. The issues of both environmental protection and climate change should remain the focus of joint efforts. The specialized multilateral UN conventions, treaties and protocols have proved fully relevant. We are calling on all states to comply with them in good faith, particularly in working to achieve the objectives of the Paris Agreement. Dear colleagues! I would like to underline again, that Russia will make every effort to contribute to peaceful political and diplomatic resolution of regional crises and conflicts, as well as to ensuring strategic stability.”
2020-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 75 (2020)
“We are ready to share experience and continue cooperating with all States and international entities, including in supplying the Russian vaccine which has proved reliable, safe, and effective, to other countries. Russia is sure that all capacities of the global pharmaceutical industry need to be employed so as to provide a free access to vaccination for the population of all states in the foreseeable future. A dangerous virus can affect anyone. The coronavirus has struck the staff of the United Nations, its headquarters and regional structures just like everyone else. Russia is ready to provide the UN with all the necessary qualified assistance; in particular, we are offering to provide our vaccine, free of charge, for the voluntary vaccination of the staff of the UN and its offices.”
2020-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 75 (2020)
“We believe it essential to qualitatively strengthen the WHO capability. This work has already begun, and Russia is genuinely motivated to engage in it. Building on the scientific, industrial and clinical experience of its doctors Russia has promptly developed a range of test systems and medicines to detect and treat the coronavirus, as well as registered the world’s first vaccine, “Sputnik-V.” I would like to reiterate that we are completely open to partner relations and willing to cooperate. In this context, we are proposing to hold an online high-level conference shortly for countries interested in cooperation in the development of anti- coronavirus vaccines.”
2020-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 75 (2020)
“We believe that the UN prestige could strengthen and enhance the role of the humanitarian or human component in multilateral and bilateral relations, namely in people-to-people and youth exchanges, cultural ties, social and educational programs, as well as cooperation in sports, science, technology, environment and health protection. As to healthcare, just like in economy, we now need to remove, as many as possible, obstacles to partner relations. Our country has been actively contributing to global and regional counter-COVID-19 efforts, providing assistance to most affected states both bilaterally and within multilateral formats. In doing so, we first of all take into account the central coordinating role of the World Health Organization, which is part of the UN system.”
2020-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 75 (2020)
“We must learn to use new technologies for the benefit of humankind, seek for a right balance between encouraging the development of artificial intelligence and justifiable restrictions to limit it, and work together towards a consensus in the field of regulation that would avert potential threats in terms of both military and technological security, as well as traditions, law, and morals of human communication. I would like to point out that during the pandemic, doctors, volunteers and citizens of various countries have been showing us examples of mutual assistance and support, and such solidarity defies borders. Many countries have also been helping each other selflessly and open-heartedly. However, there have been cases showing the deficit of humanity and, if you will, kindness in the relations at the official interstate level.”
2020-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 75 (2020)
“However, just like any other innovation, digital technologies tend to spread uncontrollably and, just like conventional weapons, can fall into the hands of various radicals and extremists not only in the regional conflict zones, but also in quite prosperous countries, thus engendering enormous risks. In this regard, matters related to cybersecurity and the use of advanced digital technology also deserve a most serious deliberation within the UN. It is important to hear and appreciate the concerns of people over the protection of their rights, such as the right to privacy, property and security, in the new era.”
2020-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 75 (2020)
“This is indeed a most acute global social problem, so the politics has a mission now to pave the way for trade, joint projects and fair competition, rather than tie the hands of business and discourage business initiative. The pandemic has also pinpointed a series of ethical, technological and humanitarian matters. For instance, advanced digital technologies helped quickly reorganize education, trade and services, as well as set up distant learning and online courses for people of different ages. Artificial intelligence has assisted doctors in making more accurate and timely diagnoses and finding the best treatment.”
2020-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 75 (2020)
“Besides, I would like to draw attention once again to Russia’s proposal to create so-called “green corridors” free from trade wars and sanctions, primarily for essential goods, food, medicine and personal protective equipment needed to fight the pandemic. In general, freeing the world trade from barriers, bans, restrictions and illegitimate sanctions would be of great help in revitalizing global growth and reducing unemployment. According to experts, total or partial reduction in global employment in the second quarter of this year equals to the loss of 400 million jobs, and we have to do our utmost to prevent this unemployment from growing long-term and ensure that people return to work and can support their families instead of finding themselves imprisoned by poverty with no prospects in life.”
2020-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 75 (2020)
“The only way to elaborate such solutions is to work together, which is the most important task for both the UN and G20 States, as well as other leading inter State organizations and integration associations that are also going through tough times due to the pandemic impact and need fundamentally new horizons and scope of development. This very idea of a qualitative integrative growth, the “integration of integrations”, is the one behind Russia’s initiative to form a Greater Eurasian Partnership involving all Asian and European countries without exception. It is purely pragmatic and increasingly relevant.”
2020-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 75 (2020)
“This disease has directly affected millions of people and claimed the most important thing: the lives of hundreds of thousands of people. Quarantines, border closures, numerous serious troubles to citizens of almost all States constitute the present-day realia. It has been especially difficult for elderly people who, due to the necessary restrictions, have not been able to hug their loved ones, children and grandchildren for weeks or even months. Experts are yet to fully assess the scale of the social and economic shock caused by the pandemic and all its long-term consequences. However, it is already evident that it will take a really, really long time to restore the global economy. Furthermore, even the proven anti-crisis measures will not always work. We will need new innovative solutions.”
2020-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 75 (2020)
“Forgetting the lessons of history is short-sighted and extremely irresponsible, just like the politicized attempts to arbitrarily interpret the causes, course and outcomes of the Second World War and twist the decisions of the conferences of the Allies and the Nuremberg Tribunal that are based on speculation instead of facts. It is not just vile and offending the memory of the fighters against Nazism. It is a direct and devastating blow to the very foundation of the post-war world order, which is particularly dangerous in view of the global stability facing serious challenges, the arms control system breaking down, regional conflicts continuing unabated, and threats posed by terrorism, organized crime and drug trafficking intensifying. We are also experiencing a whole new challenge of the coronavirus pandemic.”
2020-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 75 (2020)
“Most importantly, it is an essential and unique instrument that helps prevent unilateral actions that may result in a direct military confrontation between major States, and provides an opportunity to seek compromise or at least avoid solutions that would be completely unacceptable to others and act within the framework of international law, rather than a vague, gray area of arbitrariness and illegitimacy. As diplomatic practice shows, this instrument actually works, unlike the infamous pre-war League of Nations with its endless discussions, declarations without mechanisms for real action and with States and peoples in need not having the right to assistance and protection.”
2020-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 75 (2020)
“The current changes certainly have an effect on the principal UN body, the Security Council, as well as on the debate concerning the approaches to its reform. Our logic is that the Security Council should be more inclusive of the interests of all countries, as well as the diversity of their positions, base its work on the principle of the broadest possible consensus among States and, at the same time, continue to serve as the cornerstone of global governance, which cannot be achieved unless the permanent members of the Security Council retain their veto power. Such a right pertaining to the five nuclear powers, the victors of the Second World War, remains indicative of the actual military and political balance to this day.”
2020-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 75 (2020)
“Looking back at the past decades, one can say that despite all difficulties of the Cold War period, major geopolitical shifts and all the intricacies of today’s global politics, the UN has been ably fulfilling its mission of protecting peace, promoting sustainable development of the peoples and continents and providing assistance in mitigating local crises. This enormous potential and expertise of the UN is relevant and serves as a solid basis for moving ahead. After all, just like any other international organization or regional entity, the UN should not grow stiff, but evolve in accordance with the dynamics of the 21st century and consistently adapt to the realia of the modern world that is indeed becoming more complicated, multipolar and multidimensional.”
2020-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 75 (2020)
“I am convinced that this anniversary makes it incumbent upon all of us to recall the timeless principles of inter-State communication enshrined in the UN Charter and formulated by the founding fathers of our universal Organization in the clearest and most unambiguous terms. These principles include the equality of sovereign States, non-interference with their domestic affairs, the right of peoples to determine their own future, non-use of force or the threat of force, and political settlement of disputes.”
2020-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 75 (2020)
“Mr. President, Mr. Secretary-General, colleagues, ladies and gentlemen, This year, the international community celebrates two, without exaggeration, historic anniversaries: the 75th anniversary of the end of the Second World War and establishment of the United Nations. The importance of these two forever interlinked events cannot be overemphasized. In 1945, Nazism was defeated, the ideology of aggression and hatred was crushed, and the experience and spirit of alliance, as well as the awareness of the huge price that had been paid for peace and our common Victory, helped construct the post-war world order. It was built on the ultimate foundation of the UN Charter that remains the main source of international law to this day.”
2020-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 75 (2020)
“Russia believes in the huge potential of the United Nations to help us avoid a new global confrontation and engage in strategic cooperation. We will work consistently with other countries to strengthen the central coordinating role of the United Nations. I am confident that together we can make the world a stable and safe place and ensure conditions conducive to the development of every State and nation.”
2015-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 70 (2015)
“We propose convening a special forum under United Nations auspices for a comprehensive consideration of the issues related to the depletion of natural resources, the destruction of habitats and climate change. Russia is ready to be one of the organizers of such a forum. On 10 January 1946, the General Assembly of the United Nations gathered in London to begin work on its first session. Eduardo Zuleta Ángel, a Colombian diplomat and the Chairman of the Preparatory Commission, opened the session by giving what I believe was a concise definition of the basic principles by which the United Nations should be guided in its activities. They are free will, disdain for scheming and trickery, and a spirit of cooperation. Today his words can be a guide for us all.”
2015-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 70 (2015)
“By establishing quotas on harmful emissions or taking other steps that by their very nature are still only tactical, we may mitigate the problem for a certain amount of time, but fundamentally we will not solve it. We need a completely different approach. We should be focusing on introducing fundamentally new technologies, inspired by nature, that rather than damaging the environment will be in harmony with it and will enable us to restore the balance between the biosphere and the technosphere that human activities have destroyed. It is indeed a challenge on a planetary scale, but I am confident that humankind has the intellectual wherewithal to respond to it. We must unite our efforts, most of all those States possessing solid research capacities and fundamental scientific achievements.”
2015-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 70 (2015)
“One example is our plan to link the Eurasian Economic Union with China’s initiative in creating a Silk Road economic belt. And we continue to believe the possibility of harmonizing integration processes within the Eurasian Economic Union and the European Union to be very promising. Among the issues affecting the future of all humankind is the challenge of global climate change. It is in our interests to ensure that we get results at the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change to be held in Paris in December. As part of our national contribution, by 2030 we plan to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions to between 70 and 75 per cent of their 1990 levels. I suggest, however, that we should take a broader view of this issue.”
2015-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 70 (2015)
“Nor do they inform other countries and Governments whose interests may be affected. Perhaps they want all of us to be left with the fait accompli that the rules of the game have been changed in favour of a small group, and without the participation of the WTO. That could completely unbalance the trade system and lead to the disintegration of the global economic environment. These issues affect the interests of all States and influence the future of the entire world economy. That is why we propose discussing them within the United Nations, the WTO and the Group of 20. In opposition to a policy of exclusiveness, Russia proposes harmonizing regional economic projects through what is known as the integration of integrations, based on the universal and transparent rules of international trade.”
2015-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 70 (2015)
“Only recently, it seemed that in the economic sphere, where the objective laws of the market apply, we would learn to live without dividing lines and to act on the basis of transparent rules, jointly devised, including the principles of the World Trade Organization (WTO), which stand for freedom of trade and investment and open competition. Today, however, unilateral sanctions that circumvent the United Nations Charter have almost become the norm. They not only serve political aims, they act as a way of pushing competitors out of the market. I would like to note another sign of growing economic selfishness. A number of countries have chosen to create closed, exclusive economic associations, with negotiations conducted behind closed doors and in secret, undisclosed to their own citizens and business communities.”
2015-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 70 (2015)
“What is needed is respect for the choice of the people of the Donbas region, genuine consideration of their interests and rights and their engagement in devising the key elements of the country’s political structure, in line with the Minsk agreements that will guarantee that Ukraine can develop as a civilized State and an essential link in the construction of a common area of security and economic cooperation in both Europe and Eurasia. I have a reason for speaking of a common area for economic cooperation.”
2015-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 70 (2015)
“And yet NATO is not only still there; like its military infrastructure, it is still expanding. Then they offered post-Soviet countries a false choice — to be either with the West or the East. Sooner or later, that logic of confrontation was bound to turn into a serious geopolitical crisis, and that is what happened in Ukraine, where the people’s dissatisfaction with the authorities was exploited and a military coup provoked from outside. A civil war erupted as a result. We firmly believe that we can end the bloodshed and find a way out of this deadlock only through full implementation, in good faith, of the Minsk agreements of 12 February. Ukraine’s territorial integrity cannot be ensured by threats and force of arms, but it must be done.”
2015-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 70 (2015)
“More than anything, I believe it is vital to help restore Government institutions in Libya, support the new Government of Iraq and provide comprehensive assistance to the legitimate Government of Syria. Ensuring peace and regional and global stability remains the key task of the international community, with the United Nations at its helm. In our view, that means creating a space of equal and indivisible security that is not for the select few, but for everyone. Yes, it is a complex, difficult and time-consuming task, but there are no alternatives to it. However, for some of our colleagues the Cold War bloc mindset and desire to assimilate new geopolitical areas are still paramount. They began by continuing to expand NATO — and one wonders why, with the Warsaw Pact bloc no longer in existence and the Soviet Union broken up.”
2015-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 70 (2015)
“I would like to stress that the refugees unquestionably need our compassion and support. However, any fundamental solution to the problem must involve restoring statehood where it has been destroyed, strengthening Government institutions where they still exist or are being re-established, and providing comprehensive military, economic and material assistance to countries in difficulties — and, of course, to those who have not abandoned their homes despite all their ordeals. Naturally, any assistance to sovereign States can and must be offered rather than imposed, and only in accordance with the United Nations Charter. In other words, everything being done or to be done in this area in accordance with the norms of international law must be backed by our universal Organization, and anything contravening the Charter must be rejected.”
2015-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 70 (2015)
“First, we propose to discuss the possibility of agreeing on a draft resolution designed to coordinate the actions of all the forces confronting the Islamic State and other terrorist groups. Once again, that coordination should be based on the principles of the Charter of the United Nations. We believe that the international community can develop a comprehensive strategy for the political stabilization and social and economic recovery of the Middle East. Then there would be no need to build camps for refugees. The flood of people forced to leave their homelands has literally engulfed first the country’s neighbours and now Europe. Now they number in the hundreds of thousands, but they could soon be millions. This is a great and tragic new migration of peoples, and a harsh lesson for all of us, including Europe.”
2015-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 70 (2015)
“The militants’ ideologists make a mockery of Islam and pervert its true humanistic values. In that regard, I would also like to address Muslim spiritual leaders. Their authority and tutelage are vital at this moment. It is essential to prevent those whom militants try to recruit from making hasty decisions. And those who have been deceived and who by force of circumstance have ended up in the terrorists’ ranks must be helped to find a path back to normal life, lay down their arms and cease their fratricide. In the next few days Russia, as the current President of the Security Council, will convene a ministerial-level meeting aimed at conducting a comprehensive analysis of threats in the Middle East.”
2015-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 70 (2015)
“But the real issue is not Russia’s ambitions but the fact that we can no longer tolerate the current state of affairs in the world. In reality, we are proposing that we should be guided by our shared values and interests rather than ambitions. We should unite our efforts to address, on the basis of international law, these new problems we face and create a genuinely broad international coalition against terrorism. Like the coalition against Hitler, it could unite all the diverse forces willing to resolutely resist those who, like the Nazis, sow evil and hatred of humankind. And, naturally, Muslim countries should play a key role in that coalition. Not only is the Islamic State a direct threat to them, it also desecrates one of the world’s greatest religions with its bloody crimes.”
2015-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 70 (2015)
“Today we are providing military and technical assistance to Iraq, Syria and other countries of the region that are fighting terrorist groups. We think it is an enormous mistake to refuse to cooperate with the Syrian authorities and the State armed forces, who are valiantly combating terrorism face to face. Finally, we should acknowledge that no one except President Al-Assad’s Government armed forces and the Kurdish militia is truly fighting the Islamic State and other terrorist organizations in Syria. We are aware of all the problems and contradictions in the region, but we must nonetheless be realistic. I feel obliged to point out that Russia’s honest and straightforward approach has recently been used as a pretext for accusing us of harbouring increasing ambitions — as if the people saying that have no ambitions at all themselves.”
2015-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 70 (2015)
“The recent information on the transfer of arms to the terrorists by that moderate opposition itself is the best proof of that. We believe that any attempt to flirt with terrorists, let alone arm them, is not just short-sighted; it is incendiary. It could result in a dramatic increase in the global terrorist threat and its critical spread to new regions, especially considering the fact that militants from many countries, including Europe, are passing through Islamic State training camps. Nor, unfortunately, I must admit frankly to my colleagues, is Russia an exception. We cannot allow such criminals, who have already smelled blood, to return home and continue their evil deeds there. We do not want that. And after all, would anyone want that? Russia has always been firm and consistent in opposing terrorism in all its forms.”
2015-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 70 (2015)
“In such circumstances, it is hypocritical and irresponsible to make loud declarations about the threat of international terrorism while turning a blind eye to the channels that are financing and supporting terrorists, including through the proceeds of drug trafficking and illicit trading in oil and arms, or to attempt to manipulate extremist groups and make them do one’s bidding in order to achieve one’s own political goals, in the hope of dealing with them — or, to put it more simply, liquidating them — later. What I have to say to those people is this: Sirs, while you are certainly dealing with cruel people, they are in no way stupid or primitive. They are just as smart as you, and you cannot yet tell who is using whom for his own ends.”
2015-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 70 (2015)
“Indeed, the Islamic State itself did not come from nowhere. It, too, was initially forged as a tool against undesirable secular regimes. Having established a foothold in Syria and Iraq, the Islamic State is actively expanding into other regions, with the aim of dominating the Islamic world, and not just there. It is clearly not limiting itself to those plans alone. The situation is more than dangerous.”
2015-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 70 (2015)
“It is now obvious that the power vacuum that has appeared in a number of the countries of the Middle East and North Africa has led to the emergence of areas of anarchy that immediately began to fill with extremists and terrorists. Tens of thousands of militants are now fighting under the banners of the so-called Islamic State. They include former Iraqi servicemen who were thrown out into the street in the wake of the invasion of Iraq in 2003. Another supplier of recruits is Libya, whose statehood was destroyed as a result of a gross violation of Security Council resolution 1973 (2011). And now members of the so-called moderate Syrian opposition, supported by the West, are joining the radical ranks. First they arm and train them, and now they are defecting to the so-called Islamic State.”
2015-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 70 (2015)
“Certainly, the political and social problems of the region have been brewing for a long time, and people there naturally wanted change. But how has it actually turned out? Instead of reforming Government institutions, aggressive foreign interference has resulted in the abrupt destruction of the very fabric of life. Instead of the triumph of democracy and progress we got violence, poverty and social catastrophe. And human rights, including the right to life, are simply ignored. One cannot help wanting to ask those who created this situation if they at least realize now what they have done. But I am afraid the question would go unanswered, because policies based on complacency and a belief in one’s exceptionality and impunity are never abandoned.”
2015-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 70 (2015)
“Nobody is obliged to conform once and for all to a single model of development that someone has deemed to be the only right one. We should all remember what we have learned from past experience. For example, we remember instances from the history of the Soviet Union. Attempts to export social experiments and to push for change in one country or another based on our own ideological positions often led to tragic consequences and to deterioration rather than progress. It seems, however, that no one learns from others’ mistakes. They just repeat them, and the export of revolutions, this time so-called democratic revolutions, continues. We have only to look at the situation in the Middle East and North Africa, which the speaker before me discussed.”
2015-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 70 (2015)
“That would be a world ruled by selfishness rather than collective effort; a world ever more dictatorial and less about equality, genuine democracy and freedom; a world where an ever-growing number of de facto protectorates and externally controlled territories would replace truly independent States. What, after all, is State sovereignty, about which some of our colleagues have already spoken? More than anything it is about freedom — the freedom of every person, people or State to choose their own destiny. And by the way, the issue of the so-called legitimacy of State power also falls into this category. We should never play with words or manipulate them. Every term of international law and international affairs should be clear and transparent and possess uniformly understood criteria. We are all different, and we should respect that.”
2015-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 70 (2015)
“As a consequence, they thought, why should they bother with the United Nations, which instead of automatically sanctioning and legitimizing necessary decisions frequently just stands in the way or, as we say, gets underfoot? It has become commonplace to say that the Organization, as originally conceived, has become obsolete and that its historical mission has been accomplished. The world is changing, of course, and the United Nations must keep up with that natural transformation. Russia is ready to work on that, based on a broad consensus with all its partners, but we consider efforts to undermine the authority and legitimacy of the United Nations to be extremely dangerous. They could lead to the collapse of the entire architecture of international relations. Then we would indeed be left with no rules beyond might is right.”
2015-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 70 (2015)
“Indeed, the essence of the Organization consists in seeking and reaching compromise. Its strength lies in taking account of different opinions and points of view. The decisions that are discussed in the United Nations are either adopted as resolutions or they are not. As the diplomats say, they either go through or do not go through. Any action on the part of any State that bypasses that procedure is illegitimate and runs counter to the Charter of the United Nations and in defiance of international law. We all know that a single dominating power centre emerged in the world after the end of the Cold War. Those who found themselves at the top of that pyramid were tempted to think that if they were so strong and exceptional, they knew better than anyone else what should be done.”
2015-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 70 (2015)
“The United Nations is an Organization unique in its legitimacy, representativeness and universality. True, it has recently been much criticized for its perceived insufficient effectiveness and for decision-making on fundamental issues that can be stymied by insuperable differences, particularly among members of the Security Council. I would like to point out, however, that over the 70 years of the existence of the United Nations there have always been disagreements, and the right to the veto has always been exercised — by the United States, Great Britain, France, China, the Soviet Union and later Russia, alike. That is entirely natural for such a diverse and representative Organization. When the United Nations was established, there was no suggestion that unanimity would reign.”
2015-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 70 (2015)
“The seventieth anniversary of the United Nations is a good opportunity both to consider our history and to talk about our collective future. In 1945, the countries that had defeated Nazism united their efforts to lay firm foundations for the post-war world order. I should point out here that the key decisions about the principles for guiding cooperation among States and the creation of the United Nations were made in our country, at the meeting in Yalta of the leaders of the coalition against Hitler. The Yalta system emerged out of genuine travail, paid for with tens of millions of lives and the two world wars that engulfed the world in the twentieth century. And in all fairness to it, it has helped humankind traverse the turbulent and sometimes dramatic events of the past seven decades and has spared the world major cataclysms.”
2015-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 70 (2015)