YouSaid · the spoken record

Churkin

lines on the record: 3,923
first: 2006-05-16
most recent: 2017-02-02
sittings or episodes: 536
sources: un-security-council

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

“How many people will have to die as they progress metre by metre from Avdiivka to the Ukrainian border? How many Ukrainian soldiers and civilians will have to die? And this at a time when a political alternative exists, agreed to at the highest level, and including President Poroshenko's participation two years ago. While it is therefore regrettable that what we heard today from the Ukrainian delegation was totally irresponsible, I hope that our frank discussion will still enable those who really want to resolve the Ukrainian crisis to look at things more objectively and push Kyiv into taking the steps that are essential to establishing peace in Ukraine. It would certainly be a tragedy if the situation we have faced in the past two or three years should drag on any longer.”
2017-02-02 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7876 (2017) · source
“But can the local Ukrainians on the Ukrainian side wreak such destruction on Donetsk and Luhansk? It seems that they can. Do they not consider these Ukrainian citizens their brethren? While that would be very sad, we know that that is exactly What some hotheads in Kyiv think and believe. I would like to appeal to the common-sense section of the Ukrainian political spectrum. But I repeat that, needless to say, without major influence from those on the external factor side, the Normandy format and others, none of this will succeed. Because they will simply deceive their own people with unsubstantiated claims that own population that Kyiv has somehow complied with the Minsk agreements. They say that they are recapturing their country, metre by metre.”
2017-02-02 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7876 (2017) · source
“Of course we could draft some document, but if we are serious people representing serious Governments, especially the Governments that have been directly involved in the process, by the way, let me point out to dear Ambassador Haley that we know how they respect the American authorities in Kyiv, which means that in this regard the American authorities can have some very serious influence on the developing situation. All that is needed is to call for the implementation of the relatively simple provisions in the Minsk package in order to restore Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity. And yet Kyiv's actions are in fact bringing about the destruction of its territorial integrity. Ambassador Yelchenko says that the local people cannot do this, cannot wreak such destruction, and so forth.”
2017-02-02 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7876 (2017) · source
“Apakan can confirm that not a single day has passed when residential areas have not been shelled targets, while high-rise buildings are fired on one day and then fired on again the next. Take the photograph that Ambassador Yelchenko showed us today. If it is a picture ofa ruined building in Avdiivka, of course it is terrible. But he could have brought similar photos of other areas of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions, as many as you like. Why did he not do that? Yes, of course, Ukrainian soldiers have died in the fighting, and there is nothing good about that. But most of those who have died on the Donetsk and Luhansk side have been civilians, including women and children. Why not talk about them?”
2017-02-02 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7876 (2017) · source
“And, logically, who could suggest or expect that Donetsk and Luhansk should close off their borders and allow themselves to be walled in? And then what? Throw themselves on the mercy of the Kyiv authorities? Can the citizens of Donetsk and Luhansk trust the Kyiv authorities? At one point - I believe it was 1 July 2014 - President Poroshenko appeared on Ukrainian television and said that the citizens of Donetsk and Luhansk were so beloved in Kyiv that there would be no heavy-artillery shelling of residential areas during their anti-terrorism operations. He said that his valiant warriors had other ways of recovering those territories and that they would not be shelling residential areas with heavy weapons. Since then, Mr.”
2017-02-02 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7876 (2017) · source
“Paragraph 11 provides for "Carrying out constitutional reform in Ukraine with a new constitution providing for decentralization as a key element as well as adopting permanent legislation on the special status of certain areas in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions in line with measures as set out in the footnote". And the footnote clearly sets out the eight measures that must be taken in order to ensure special status for south-eastern Ukraine. They are extremely precise. The President of France, who made a very active and substantive contribution, and the Chancellor and the Minister for Foreign Affairs of Germany, who made a number of proposals that were then agreed to by everyone, did not spend 17 hours drafting them in vain.. There can simply be no arguing here.”
2017-02-02 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7876 (2017) · source
“Regarding the relationship between military and political measures, paragraph 9 of the annex provides for "Reinstatement of full control over the State border by the Government of Ukraine throughout the conflict area, starting on day 1 after the local elections and ending after the comprehensive political settlement provided that paragraph 11 has been implemented in consultation with and upon agreement by representatives of certain areas of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions in the framework of the Trilateral Contact Group." That means that certain military steps should start only after various political measures have been implemented. Now, what are those conditions in paragraph 11 that have to be implemented?”
2017-02-02 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7876 (2017) · source
“From time to time, we hear that Russia is not fulfilling the Minsk agreements; but the President of Ukraine says that the military provisions of the Minsk agreements must be complied with before the political ones are dealt with. It is not hard to figure out who is right and who is wrong here. All we have to do is look at a Security Council document - the same resolution 2202 (2015), to which the package of measures is attached as annex I. It contains some very simple propositions that we can all understand.”
2017-02-02 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7876 (2017) · source
“Give back the Malvinas; give back Gibraltar; give back the part of Cyprus that was annexed; give back the Chagos archipelago in the Indian Ocean, which has been turned into a huge military base. Perhaps then his conscience will be a little clearer and he will be able to speak to other topics. While we sometimes have to deal in controversy, I believe nonetheless that our job as diplomats in the Security Council is to adopt resolutions and see to it that they are strictly implemented. Ten days from now we will observe the second anniversary of the adoption of the Minsk package of measures and the corresponding agreements, while 17 February is the second anniversary of the Council's adoption of resolution 2202 (2015), giving the Minsk agreements international legal status.”
2017-02-02 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7876 (2017) · source
“The people of Crimea clearly expressed their will in a referendum in which 93 per cent of the population voted for reunification with Russia, from which Crimea had been unjustly and unlawfully severed. And, by the way, that expression of the people's will has subsequently been confirmed in a number of public opinion surveys conducted by Western organizations. Still on the issue of Crimea, however, it is the representative of the United Kingdom, as aggressive as ever, who for some reason persists in saying that the crisis in Ukraine began with Crimea. I am compelled yet again to recall that the whole thing began with a coup that owed a great deal to external support. Here is my advice to the representative of the United Kingdom about his position.”
2017-02-02 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7876 (2017) · source
“Mr. Churkin (Russian Federation) (spoke in Russian): Our meeting is drawing to a close, and I am now perhaps within my rights, as doyen of the Security Council, to welcome our new United States colleague, Ambassador Nikki Haley. From time to time we may have differences on particular issues, but her efforts will greatly influence the Council's ability to effectively carry out its collective functions as the body with the primary responsibility for maintaining international peace and security. I would therefore like to wish her every success. In her statement, Ambassador Haley touched on the issue of Crimea. In that connection, I would like to remind her that it was the United States Constitution that proclaimed those marvellous, historic words "We the people".”
2017-02-02 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7876 (2017) · source
“We hope that the forces of common sense in Ukraine itself, as well as those who are interested in resolving such situations by political means, will not allow the situation in south-eastern Ukraine to turn into a worst-case scenario, but will instead focus their attention and efforts on ensuring that the Minsk agreements are fulfilled. Today President Poroshenko said that he had personally ordered the Ukrainian delegation to convene today's Council meeting. When he called to order today's meeting, the Permanent Representative of Ukraine proposed drafting a Security Council document building on the statement we issued on 31 January. Sadly, the unbridled, odious statement we heard today from Ukraine shows that the Ukrainian delegation here in New York is continuing on the path of war, which is deeply regrettable.”
2017-02-02 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7876 (2017) · source
“In order to prevent a humanitarian disaster and get the situation back on a political track, the international community must be firm and consistent. In that regard, the Security Council sent an important message on 31 January (SC/12700) when it united in calling for an immediate ceasefire and strict respect for the Minsk package. Yesterday the Trilateral Contact Group made an announcement in the same spirit when it called for full compliance with the ceasefire regime and the withdrawal of the heavy weaponry that comes under the Minsk agreements. We expect to see effective action from the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission aimed at de-escalating the situation as soon as possible. The Normandy format participants, and those who can exert the most influence on Kyiv, have a particular responsibility in that regard.”
2017-02-02 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7876 (2017) · source
“But, of course, the Ukrainian leadership needs money, which it hopes to extract from the European Union, various European countries, the United States and the international financial institutions by setting itself up as a victim of aggression. Kyiv seems not to worry very much about the humanitarian cost of such a policy. It is actively using heavy types of armaments around village residential areas, schools and hospitals, including heavy artillery and multiple-launch rocket systems, which according to the Minsk package of measures of 12 February 2015 should have been withdrawn from the contact line long ago. Civilians are among those killed and wounded. Thanks to Ukrainian security forces' attacks, the Donetsk filtration station and the Avdiivka coke plant have been damaged and mineworkers' lives threatened.”
2017-02-02 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7876 (2017) · source
“The numbers testify to the fact that, rather than attempting to normalize the situation in the Donbas region and arrive at reasonable compromises within the Normandy format and the framework of the Trilateral Contact Group, the Ukrainian authorities are desperately trying to achieve a military solution to the conflict. Another attention-grabbing feature is the fact that any serious deterioration of the situation in the Donbas region, amazingly, coincides with foreign visits on the part of Ukraine's leadership. Evidently that is how Kyiv hopes to keep its self-created crisis on the international agenda while at the same time roping in newly elected Heads of Government with its reckless, confrontational policies.”
2017-02-02 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7876 (2017) · source
“Between 26 and 29 January observers discovered four tanks in Avdiivka and three howitzers in Mykolaivka, as well as the disappearance from the security forces' storage of 76 tanks, 10 mortars and 18 field guns. Only about 6 per cent of the stored military hardware was actually there. Thus began a new spiral of tensions that since then has only been ratcheted up further. According to yesterday's Special Monitoring Mission report, the number of violations has risen daily, reaching 10,300 shell explosions in a span of24 hours. At the same time, the statistics on restrictions to the Mission's access speak for themselves - in seven of nine cases it was the Ukrainian forces that put obstacles in its way.”
2017-02-02 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7876 (2017) · source
“According to the Mission camera in Shyrokyne, intense crossfire on the night of 28 January was preceded by 20 shots fired from west to cast, that is, again from the Ukrainian forces' positions towards the rebels' territory, after which another battle ensued. According to Mission data for 26 to 29 January, indiscriminate shelling of residential areas under rebel control, coming from areas where Ukrainian security forces were deployed, injured civilians in Brianka and destroyed more than a dozen houses in Brianka, Donetskyi, Olenivka, Zaichenko, Kalynove, Novooleksandrivka and Pervomaiske. The Mission continued to observe Ukrainian forces' military equipment in the security zone.”
2017-02-02 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7876 (2017) · source
“On the night of 27 and 28 January, the Mission's camera at the Oktyabrskaya mine recorded intense crossfire between the Ukrainian armed forces and militias, which was preceded by firing from the north-west to the south- east, that is, from the security forces' positions. At the same time, another Special Monitoring Mission camera captured an intense artillery exchange in Avdiivka that began with five shots fired from north to south, which also meant from Ukrainian forces' positions. The next night, 28 and 29 January, a Mission camera in Avdiivka recorded 15 shots fired from a north-westerly direction towards the south-east, also from the Kyiv security forces' side, bombarding the militias' positions. That was followed by hours of fighting in the Avdiivka industrial zone. The picture on the southern flank was the same.”
2017-02-02 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7876 (2017) · source
“On 22 January, President Poroshenko declared publicly that Ukraine would not be doing anything about political reform until it regained full control of its border with Russia, in an approach that completely perverts the content of the Minsk package of measures and deliberately renders them unrealizable, practically speaking. Lastly, yesterday Deputy Defence Minister Pavlovsky completed the picture by bragging to the press that his heroic lads were moving forward where they could, metre by metre, step by step. That overtly militaristic rhetoric has had very real consequences, as is clearly apparent from the latest reports of the Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE). Observers have confirmed that the escalation was provoked by Ukrainian security forces.”
2017-02-02 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7876 (2017) · source
“However hard the Ukrainian side tries to portray things differently, including by convening this meeting of the Council and making statements that turn the facts upside down, there is a massive amount of information, including open admissions by Ukrainian officials right up to the level of the country's President, that is too overwhelming to permit denial of the destructive policies of Kyiv and its armed forces. On 3 January, Ukraine's Defence Minister Poltorak confirmed that the Ukrainian armed forces had seized new positions in the grey zone, with the demagogic claim that that did not violate the Minsk agreements because the occupied territories thereby belonged to Ukraine. On 17 January, Interior Minister Avakov, speaking to Ukrainian border guards, urged them to prepare to seize the State borders in 2017.”
2017-02-02 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7876 (2017) · source
“Mr. Churkin (Russian Federation) (spoke in Russian): We are grateful for today's briefings, which painted a disturbing picture of the ongoing events and suffering of the people of eastern Ukraine. What has basically been happening is quite obvious. Kyiv is attempting to use clashes it has itself provoked as a pretext for a complete refusal to implement the Minsk agreements, signed on 12 February 2015 and endorsed in resolution 2202 (2015).”
2017-02-02 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7876 (2017) · source
“We hope that the forthcoming meeting in Astana on Syria will enable us to strengthen the cessation of hostilities and give powerful impetus to the process of political settlement under United Nations auspices.”
2017-01-17 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7863 (2017) · source
“In general, the participation of outside invitees, in our View, should be decided according to the tasks identified. Our Kazakh colleagues, as hosts, will have a significant role to play. We need the involvement of forces wielding influence on the situation on the ground if we are to create conditions conducive to strengthening the ceasefire, and that subject will be at the centre of the talks. It is likely that a number of other important aspects, such as confidence-building measures, improving humanitarian access and the components of the political agenda, will also be discussed. We are currently finalizing the organizational issues. We hope that our international and regional partners will support these efforts. New possibilities are opening up, and and whatever happens, it is vital that we make the most of them.”
2017-01-17 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7863 (2017) · source
“It is expected that it will be attended by representatives of the Syrian Government and of those armed opposition groups that have signed the cessation of hostilities agreement and support a political solution. We are planning the conference as a concrete step in the implementation of resolution 2336 (2016), which approved the December agreements. In its way, the conference in Kazakhstan represents a bridge to the inclusive Geneva talks that Mr. Staffan de Mistura, the Special Envoy of the Secretary- General, has scheduled for 8 February. We believe that this resuscitation measure will help to revive the abandoned intra-Syrian dialogue. The format for Astana will involve the participation of United Nations representatives, who could serve as moderators for the contacts between the Syrian sides.”
2017-01-17 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7863 (2017) · source
“We continue to strive to support the political process for resolving the conflict in Syria, while expanding humanitarian access and the fight against terrorism, as is stipulated in resolution 2254 (2015) and the corresponding decisions of the International Syria Support Group. We welcome the signing of an agreement on 29 December on a ceasefire between the Syrian Government and the main groups of the armed opposition. That took place under the aegis of Russia and Turkey. And naturally, the terrorists of the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant and Al-Nusrah were excluded from that agreement. The ceasefire has been imposed throughout most of the territory. There are real hopes for the international conference on a Syrian settlement to be held in Astana on 23 January, and active preparation for it is under way.”
2017-01-17 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7863 (2017) · source
“The effective overcoming of intra-Palestinian discord will also help to ease the situation in Gaza. There, the humanitarian and socioeconomic situations remain very difficult and, as a result, Palestinians are increasingly reliant on the help of the international community. We therefore welcome the work done by United Nations agencies in that area, in particular the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA). The Russian Federation, for its part, has decided to earmark a voluntary contribution of $2 million to the UNRWA budget for 2017-2021. With regard to settling the crises in Syria, Iraq, Libya and Yemen, Russia has unswervingly advocated that there is no alternative to a political and diplomatic process based on inclusive national dialogue.”
2017-01-17 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7863 (2017) · source
“I recall that that meeting was supposed to take place in September last year, and that the Palestinian party was ready for it. Another priority for our work was and remains facilitating intra-Palestinian reconciliation. A high- level meeting of representatives of all of the main Palestinian groups was recently held in Moscow. We note the key importance of re-establishing the political and geographical unity ofPalestine on the basis of the political platforms of the Palestine Liberation Organization and the Arab Peace Initiative. If we manage to solve the intra-Palestinian conflict, then we have the preconditions for enabling the Palestinian people to exercise their legal right to an independent and viable State, existing in peace and security with their neighbours.”
2017-01-17 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7863 (2017) · source
“In that context, we note that the concluding statement of the international ministerial conference on the Palestinian- Israeli peace settlement in Paris rightly reproduced the main provisions of the existing international legal basis for conflict settlement and includes an encouragement to the parties to the conflict to restate their commitment to a two-State solution. At the same time, we remain convinced that today, as never before, the time is ripe for practical measures to be taken to bring the peace process out of its dangerous impasse. With that in mind, we continue to work to renew direct political dialogue between the Palestinians and the Israelis. We restate our readiness to offer Moscow as a forum for that contact.”
2017-01-17 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7863 (2017) · source
“We advocate a comprehensive, fair and stable settlement on the basis of the relevant Security Council resolutions, the Madrid principles, land for peace and the Arab Peace Initiative. We are convinced that the long-term solution to the conflict should be sought through direct negotiations between the parties to the conflict without any preconditions. The general position of the international community has been stated repeatedly. Based on that consensus, we voted in favour of resolution 2334 (2016). We believe that the resolution provides a consolidated signal that unilateral efforts are unacceptable, whether on the Israeli side or on the Palestinian side. It is also unacceptable to second guess the conclusions that might be reached in the peace negotiations, and it is important to maintain the prospect of a two-State solution.”
2017-01-17 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7863 (2017) · source
“Furthermore, there is a need for measures to achieve a political settlement in a number of conflicts, and for the re-establishment of stability and a peaceful life in the region of the Middle East and North Africa. The situation on the Palestinian-Israeli track of the Middle Eastern settlement remains tense and explosive, as demonstrated by the periodic spikes in violence, including the 8 January terrorist attack in Jerusalem, in which four Israeli soldiers were killed, and the numerous arrests of Palestinians and violations of the ceasefire regime around Gaza. The Russian position on a peace settlement in the Middle East was and remains fundamental and consistent.”
2017-01-17 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7863 (2017) · source
“Mr. Churkin (Russian Federation) (spoke in Russian): The Middle East and North Africa region is still experiencing a systemic multilevel crisis. There have been ongoing, bloodthirsty terrorist attacks and other attacks, including the murder of the Russian ambassador in Ankara, Mr. Karlov. There have been explosions in Turkey and Egypt, and the tragedies in Berlin and Jerusalem. They are all evidence that the terrorist threat is global. That, once again, shows the need for a consolidated effort on the part of the international community to form a broad counter-terrorist front. That has been called for time and again by the Russian President, Vladimir Putin.”
2017-01-17 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7863 (2017) · source
“Very briefly, the statement of the representative of Ukraine contained obvious legal and political errors. Kyiv should stop firing on the civilian residents of the Donbas region and should fulfil the Minsk agreements, which will soon be two years old. First and foremost, it must launch a direct dialogue with the citizens of Donetsk and Luhansk. In conclusion, I would like to take this opportunity to once again wish Secretary-General Antonio Guterres every success.”
2017-01-10 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7857 (2017) · source
“The overthrow of the Government in Libya has had terrible consequences not only in Libya itself but for the entire African continent. The flood of refugees into Europe from Syria and Libya has been a direct result of Washington's adventurist policies. The deplorable situation in South Sudan has a great deal to do with Washington's years of attempts to overthrow the regime in Khartoum. The crisis in Ukraine would not have happened if the United States and its allies had not begun telling Kyiv which agreements it could subscribe to and when. The outgoing administration of Barack Obama is desperately seeking people to blame for its failures in both domestic and foreign policy. It is regrettable that even the Security Council has become a forum for such futile efforts.”
2017-01-10 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7857 (2017) · source
“We are already accustomed to the fact that the notion of American exceptionalism extends to procedural issues, as evidenced by a contempt for time limits that shows disrespect for others. It has been harder to get used to the random citations of history. Speaking of sovereignty, one cannot help recalling that it has been the gross violation of such by the United States that has put a number of countries in difficult situations that we have had to deal with over and over again. The United States invasion of Iraq not only destabilized the Middle East but gave birth to the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant. Its gross violations of Syria's sovereignty have resulted in the further spread of the terrorist threat.”
2017-01-10 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7857 (2017) · source
“In conclusion, I would like to draw attention to the fact that we can speculate as long as we want as to how many conflicts could be avoided if the United Nations intervened in time, but the fact remains that a significant number of them have been the result of irresponsible external interference in the affairs of other States, including the overthrow of legitimate regimes. We have no right to squander the credibility of the United Nations on such adventurism. All our actions should be carefully verified and, most importantly, enjoy the support of all parties to a conflict. I cannot omit to comment briefly on two statements made today, the first being that of the United States.”
2017-01-10 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7857 (2017) · source
“We all need to be guided not by ambitions but by our shared values and interests, based on the Charter of the United Nations and other applicable norms of international law, as well as our international partnership agreements, the most important of which is the United Nations Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy. For our part, we affirm our commitment to strengthen the preventive potential of the United Nations for combating crises, as reflected in the Russian Federation's foreign policy concept, updated in November.”
2017-01-10 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7857 (2017) · source
“That applies particularly to the Plan of Action to Prevent Violent Extremism, which does not take full account of the real causes of that dangerous phenomenon and ignores the primary role of States in combating it. And that issue should not overshadow the more urgent global problem of an unprecedentedly serious terrorist threat, which we need a genuinely collective effort to fight. That is why we propose coming together and acting in genuine unity within the framework of a broad anti-terrorist coalition, as Russia's President Vladimir Putin discussed in his address to the General Assembly at its seventieth session (see A/70/PV.13).”
2017-01-10 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7857 (2017) · source
“We hope that in their preparation of relevant reports, its staff, while not forgetting the Security Council's primary responsibility for the maintenance of international peace and security, can analyse the issues intelligently and share their experience in resolving them. Those reports can be useful if they are put together professionally and impartially. It is also important to ensure that they focus on the practical impact of the measures proposed. We are ready to take into account any initiatives from the Secretariat in the area of conflict prevention or raising awareness of potential threats, but they must add value, taking into account the approaches of Member States and the main parties to a conflict.”
2017-01-10 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7857 (2017) · source
“And yet for some reason external interference in the affairs of other States and in support of coups has not been mentioned as a cause of crises, although it is the consequences of just such issues that we are currently dealing with in a whole slew of cases. We should also take a fresh look at the coordination of international efforts at conflict prevention. It is essential to ensure that we make more active use of the potential for prevention offered by regional and subregional organizations. Of course, Member States also expect constructive support from the United Nations Secretariat.”
2017-01-10 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7857 (2017) · source
“Conflict prevention is sometimes presented as if it were some kind of new, all-inclusive priority for the United Nations. But the fact remains that this task was established by the Charter 70 years ago. Why it has not been implemented as it should have is a good question. Perhaps it is about political will, or the lack of it. We all agree that prevention is cheaper and more effective than cure, but deciding on a diagnosis is another matter altogether. It is worth recalling here that Member States still disagree about the former Secretary-General's proposed possible indicators for the inevitability of a crisis. History has often shown, for instance, that crises can arise in countries where there are no human rights violations or lack of development.”
2017-01-10 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7857 (2017) · source
“With regard to the concept of sustaining peace, we see it as the acknowledgement by all national participants of the processes for sharing responsibility for peace, tackling the underlying causes ofconflict and reconstructing and developing their own Governments as well as preventing potential crisis situations. The term was first used in resolution 2282 (2016), on reforming our peacebuilding architecture, which aimed to adapt foundational documents to modern realities. At the same time, the mandates of the various bodies and the fundamentals of their work remained unchanged - that is, the primary responsibility both for preventing and dealing with the consequences of conflict is borne by the States themselves, and the parameters of international support, should it prove necessary, depend on the States' decisions.”
2017-01-10 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7857 (2017) · source
“However, we should not forget that every situation requires a delicate, unbiased approach and patient efforts to arrive at a settlement that is unique to it. A one-size-fits-all model does not work. We believe firmly that we cannot base early prevention on some randomly chosen combination of various indicators of conflict, which can leave the door open for potential misuse. An artificial emphasis on separate mechanisms available to the United Nations - even in such important areas as the protection of human rights or the Sustainable Development Goals - is even less appropriate. The non-transparent assessment methods of specific separate entities should not be used as a basis for general preventive action.”
2017-01-10 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7857 (2017) · source
“He made important observations in his impressive statement today, and we should all vigorously support his message that 2017 must be a year for peace, not just in words but in our practical actions. The United Nations and its Security Council play a significant role in preventing conflicts. We agree that their successful, timely prevention depends to a large degree on combining all the tools in the United Nations arsenal - Chapters I and VI of the Charter, along with a number of additional decisions, including resolution 2171 (2014), on conflict prevention. The time has come for a dispassionate look at what has not worked and why, and to draw the appropriate conclusions. Right now, at the beginning ofa new Secretary-General's term, is the perfect moment for that.”
2017-01-10 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7857 (2017) · source
“Mr. Churkin (Russian Federation) (spoke in Russian): Sweden has begun its two years of labour on the Security Council by taking the Chair of the presidency at the very start. We wish it every success. We are sure that in the conduct of our work the land of Dag Hammarskjold, Olof Palme and Jan Eliasson will exemplify the excellent foreign policy traditions that we know of old. We welcome the participation of Secretary-General Antonio Guterres in his first Security Council open debate. It is significant that the new Secretary-General began his work with the appeal for peace that he voiced on 1 January. We share the basic premise of his brief, which is that the pursuit of peace should permeate every area of our Organization's activities, from ending hostilities to concluding negotiations designed to achieve political solutions to conflicts.”
2017-01-10 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7857 (2017) · source
“We are convinced that if the international community is guided by the objective of upholding the interests of the Syrian people and restoring stability in the region as a whole, then we can achieve success. My last comment is an expression of gratitude to the Council members who are leaving us today, including the delegation of Spain, which during this long difficult month of 31 days has carried out duties that are coming to an end almost at midnight on the very last day.”
2016-12-31 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7855 (2016) · source
“I do not wish to level criticisms today, but I would like to delicately convey to my colleagues that this is a very complicated process. Everything we achieve is the result of enormous effort, so let us be clear. I urge members to help us, and if they cannot or do not want to help then I urge them not to complicate things, cast doubt on the agreements reached or attempt to reinterpret them in some way. I would ask them not to simply repeat outdated cliches ad infinitum. Some representatives have been repeating the same cliches for six years now, despite the fact that it achieves nothing. That is not helpful. We must work very seriously to ensure that, in 2017, we are able to achieve a political settlement to the crisis in Syria.”
2016-12-31 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7855 (2016) · source
“The resolution adopted by us today speaks to the need to comply with a cessation of hostilities regime in Syria and to the very important meeting in Astana, the capital of Kazakhstan, which, in Astana, in just two and a half hours, will become a member of the Security Council. At that meeting, delegations of the opposition and the Government will for the first time meet face to face, all of this in the context of efforts that have been undertaken under the Security Council's mandate pursuant to resolutions 2254 (2015) and 2268 (2016) and other very well-known documents. All of this is enshrined in the resolution adopted here today. It is very important indeed that the Security Council today backed these efforts made by Russia and Turkey.”
2016-12-31 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7855 (2016) · source
“All of us remember the numerous meetings of our Minister for Foreign Affairs, Sergei Lavrov, and the United States Secretary of State, John Kerry, always leading to serious agreements that, for reasons that I am not going to go into now, unfortunately remained unfulfilled. At the end of this year, the Russian Federation and Turkey, alongside the Syrian Government, in contact with opposition groups, took it upon themselves to reach a number of very important agreements that were enshrined in the documents published on 29 December and which were then circulated as an official document of the Security Council. This is a very important initiative.”
2016-12-31 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7855 (2016) · source
“All of us know that this has been a very difficult year - a year which comes to an end in our capital in only two and a half hours. It was very difficult from the point of view of the work of the Security Council on a Syrian settlement, but the fact that we are concluding this year by unanimously adopting two such resolutions means that if all of us together look together at certain objectives rather than attempt to gain self-interested benefit, then we are able to make important decisions. During this year, as all ofus will recall, a number of very serious efforts were undertaken to achieve a radical improvement in the settlement of the Syrian crisis.”
2016-12-31 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7855 (2016) · source
“Mr. Churkin (Russian Federation) (spoke in Russian): I did not intend to speak here today, as it seems to me that resolution 2336 (2016), which we have just adopted, speaks for itself. But as all members ofthe Security Council have spoken it would probably be odd, to say the least, if one of the sponsors of the resolution and a member of the Council simply stayed silent. This would probably be seen as perhaps not endorsing or approving of what has been said by my colleagues. Far be it from this. As I take the floor, the natural first step is to thank all of the members of the Council for voting in favour of the resolution we elaborated together with the Turkish delegation. We would like to individually thank the delegation of Turkey for its very substantive contribution to the work on the resolution.”
2016-12-31 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7855 (2016) · source