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

“What was Ukraine's response? President Poroshenko put forth a peace initiative that provided a week for the capitulation of the citizens of Donbas. We immediately responded that there could be no military settlement; there must be a political one. The Ukrainians did not want a political settlement; they wanted a military one, so they get what they get. Life is real and it is what is. My Ukrainian colleague understands that well. If he wants to go into the whole package of measures for the implementation of the Minsk agreements, we can do that, but we have already said these things many times and when everything that is supposed to happen has already been clearly established. Border control is supposed to happen last. It is all very clear in the package.”
2016-02-29 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7635 (2016) · source
“Mr. Churkin (Russian Federation) (spoke in Russian): I am very ready to go into detail. I do not think that we need to take Mr. Steinmeier's time, as he is already aware of this whole situation. From the very beginning, we have said that the crisis in Ukraine had to be resolved politically. At the Geneva talks on 17 April 2014, which involved the participation of the Secretary of State of the United States, the High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy of the European Union, the Minister for Foreign Affairs of Ukraine and the Minister for Foreign Affairs of Russia, we agreed on a declaration in which we stated that there was a need for inclusive political dialogue. Indeed, the Chairperson-in-Office of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe also spoke about that in the road map.”
2016-02-29 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7635 (2016) · source
“So let us not engage in propaganda but concentrate on the ongoing work in the Caucasus and in Ukraine so as to normalize the situation after those crises, which were due to various factors, among which the United States played a rather significant role.”
2016-02-29 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7635 (2016) · source
“It is time to put an end to the crisis, which would not have begun in the first place had it not been for this undermining policy of spheres of influence, which the United States criticized today. Finally, quite frankly I did not want to digress from the issue of Ukraine, but the representative of the United States spoke about Georgia and criticized Russia and what is required of us. I should like to recall that the irreversible political changes that took place in the Caucasus in 2008 happened as a result of the aggression that Georgian politicians carried out against southern Ossetia. The United States supported them; at that time there were more than 100 United States military advisers in Georgia, so it would be naive to think that they turned a blind eye to what was happening or missed it.”
2016-02-29 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7635 (2016) · source
“Indeed, there are difficulties in the context of the Contact Group, so it seems that Kyiv once again is really drawing out the process. In this regard, I should like once again to reiterate the request that our colleagues in the Normandy format have heard. We need to be very demanding and act as a matter of principle. When agreements are reached at a high level, Kyiv must be required to implement them. I think that when that happens, other issues - which, as we heard, Mr. Steinmeier stressed during his recent meeting with Minister Klimkin- the fight against corruption and economic reforms will move forward, because in a conflict situation it is probably too optimistic to expect some sort of progress on such fronts. So Kyiv first and foremost should want to see the implementation of the package of measures, just as Russia does.”
2016-02-29 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7635 (2016) · source
“In this regard, I cannot but express my disappointment at the statement made by my Ukrainian colleague, who repeated several propagandistic slogans with respect to Russia. I am wondering, when is Kyiv going to implement the clearly defined elements of the package? Why was a law not adopted last year on the special status of Donbas? When will it be adopted? When will the amnesty law be adopted? When will there finally be an agreement with the Kyiv authorities and the Luhansk and Donetsk leadership? Upon the request of Kyiv and the leadership of Russia in the Normandy format, we convinced representatives of Donetsk and Luhansk to postpone the local elections that were supposed to take place at the end of last year, but prospects for agreement on how the elections will be held look rather dim.”
2016-02-29 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7635 (2016) · source
“Yet another element on which I fully agree with the representative of the United States is the continuing dangerous situation in terms of security between the Kyiv armed forces and rebel battalions that are continuing to operate in eastern Ukraine and Donetsk and Luhansk. What the representative of the United States did not say, however, and what needs to be said is that to a large extent this exacerbation is due to the fact that the Ukrainian armed forces took over a neutral space and began to defend a security zone there with heavy weaponry. This runs totally counter to the logic and the letter of the Minsk agreements, which speak of the need for the withdrawal of forces. The Ukrainian forces are coming dangerously close to the armed groups, which has led to exchanges of fire and attacks.”
2016-02-29 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7635 (2016) · source
“We are critical of the expansion of NATO into the east and of how the European Union continues to formulate its policy of Eastern partnership. Eastern European States are given the choice to be either with the West or with the East. As the Council will recall, the crisis in Ukraine broke out as a result of the fact that Brussels began to categorically demand that president Yanukovych immediately sign the agreement on association with the European Union. Therefore a return to the policy of the spheres of influence is extremely undermining in terms of consequences for European security.”
2016-02-29 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7635 (2016) · source
“Mr. Churkin (Russian Federation) (spoke in Russian): I should like to make a few brief comments. First, I was surprised to note that, in the context of the principal issues, I agree with the statement made by the representative of the United States. First, he quite rightly noted that one of the most important principles of the OSCE is the equality of all members before international law. We fully agree with that and deem it unacceptable that there have been statements made on the right of certain States to determine the fate of the rest of the world. Another issue that was rightly noted by the United States representative and with which we agree is the danger posed by a return to the principle of spheres of influence.”
2016-02-29 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7635 (2016) · source
“We think that the upcoming business conference in Berlin on economic connectivity on 18 and 19 May will allow progress on that path. The humanitarian dimension of the OSCE should be depoliticized, cleansed of double standards. Russian priorities in that regard are well-known - the protection of universal traditional values; countering aggressive nationalism, radicalism and neo-Nazism; preventing attempts to falsify the history of the Second World War; the fight against ethnic and religious intolerance, including against Christians; and the protection of journalists working in conflict zones. Ensuring the rights of children and the disabled, non-intervention in private life and agreement on common rules for monitoring elections are among other topics that the OSCE should pay more attention to.”
2016-02-29 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7635 (2016) · source
“We note the contribution of Berlin to the preliminary agreement on 12 February in Vienna of the additional list of confidence-building measures in the use of information and computer technologies. We believe that the OSCE can contribute to the response to the migration crisis, which requires in-depth discussion. On the military-political front, a common understanding of shared goals in arms control and confidence-building measures is needed. But for this one needs to overcome the logic of containment, a mode of thinking again prevailing among NATO strategists. We recognize the relevance ofincluding an item on sustainable connectivity on the agenda of economic and environmental baskets. Harmonizing and calibrating the integration processes in Europe and Eurasia are designed to reduce the potential for conflict on the continent.”
2016-02-29 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7635 (2016) · source
“Due to such distortions, mistrust arises on the part of Luhansk and Donetsk, which in particular is then reflected in the problems of access by monitors to sites in the republics. We would like to note that Monitoring Mission staff regularly visit districts along the Ukrainian-Russian border, and nothing suspicious has been documented in their reports. An important element in establishing a global unifying agenda is strengthening the OSCE as a format for dialogue and cooperation with regard to transnational threats and challenges. We support the efforts of the German chairmanship in that regard. It would be advisable to conduct a joint assessment of threats to common security. We hope that documents already adopted by the United Nations and the OSCE on the fight against terrorism and drug trafficking will provide more results.”
2016-02-29 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7635 (2016) · source
“We believe that monitors could pay more attention to monitoring on the territory under the control of the Ukrainian army - in particular the Dnepropetrovsk, Kharkov and Zaporozhye regions, where armaments and equipment are being accumulated - and provide more complete reporting on their activities. However, despite those criticisms, the OSCE Monitoring Mission in Ukraine is the only mechanism that can work with all parties to the conflict: Kyiv and Donetsk and Luhansk. It is of the utmost importance that the monitoring activities be carried out in a manner that is equal on both sides ofthe line of contact, and not concentrated mainly in the territories under the control of the militias.”
2016-02-29 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7635 (2016) · source
“We think that the current format of cooperation between the United Nations and the OSCE in Ukraine is sufficient. We base this on the fact that the parties themselves have the primary responsibility for implementing the practical solutions to stabilize the situation - demining, rehabilitation of infrastructure, exchange of prisoners and so on. It is important to recall the dangers of attempts to blur or reinterpret the existing mechanisms, such as the Contact Group or the Normandy format, and to launch new initiatives that only distract us from the necessity to fully implement the package of measures. On the whole, we support the activities of the OSCE Monitoring Mission in Ukraine.”
2016-02-29 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7635 (2016) · source
“In that regard, it is quite convenient that Germany is also an active member of Normandy format, and indeed, thanks to its international prestige, Germany has given the package of measures more weight. Nevertheless, the OSCE has neither the political nor the moral right to lose sight of the investigation of the tragedy on the Maidan in February 2014 and in Odessa on 2 May 2014. We called attention to the brash assertion of certain participants at the events in the Maidan, recently widely publicized in Ukraine, who openly acknowledged that they were the instigators of killings of law enforcement officers, who, unarmed, were ensuring public order in the capital of Ukraine in those days. No charges have been levied against them, nor are investigations under way. We cannot indulge in their impunity.”
2016-02-29 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7635 (2016) · source
“The instruments that were proposed by the OSCE to settle the crisis, including the Swiss road map, remained on the table, first and foremost due to Kyiv's lack of desire to seek a solution based on an inclusive dialogue to solve the conflict with different regions and to a lack of good political leadership. The agenda was imposed by radicals. That is the reason not only for the complete disarray in the economic and political life of Ukraine, but also of Kyiv's failure to implement a number of key provisions of the package of measures agreed upon in Minsk by the leaders of Normandy quartet and endorsed in resolution 2202 (2015). We believe that one of the primary tasks for the German chairmanship of the OSCE should be the full implementation of the package of measures.”
2016-02-29 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7635 (2016) · source
“Unfortunately, the ideals that were at the heart of the creation of the organization have not always been implemented in practice, nor has cooperation between States become a key rallying factor. Sometimes, one has the impression that geopolitical egoism or a narrowness of political thinking has the upper hand. Who would have thought that in the heart of Europe there could have been such a violent armed coup d'etat as took place in Ukraine, and even with the support of some members of the OSCE? In that context, the people of Crimea were free to decide to join Russia.”
2016-02-29 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7635 (2016) · source
“We share the emphasis of the German chairmanship on the "all-weather" dialogue, for which the OSCE has a solid foundation in the form of the genuine equality of all States parties and a broad-based agenda, which reflects the interests of all. As is well known, in the OSCE not a single State or bloc of States can freeze matters of common interest and of paramount importance for European security. There are collective means of crisis management, which enjoy high credibility in the region. That must remain the OSCE's philosophy of dialogue in the future. The OSCE has entered into its fifth decade of existence, having accumulated considerable international experience and created its own mechanisms.”
2016-02-29 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7635 (2016) · source
“Mr. Churkin (Russian Federation) (spoke in Russian): We are pleased to welcome to the Security Council the Vice-Chancellor and Minister for Foreign Affairs of Germany, Frank-Walter Steinmeier, in his capacity as Chairperson-in-Office of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE). We thank him for his substantive briefing. We have consistently stood for developing and improving cooperation between the United Nations and regional and subregional mechanisms on the basis of the Charter of the United Nations, first and foremost Chapter VIII. It is on this very foundation that cooperation between the United Nations and the OSCE should be based. Cooperation between the two organizations is regular and multilateral in nature, covering all dimensions of security, as well as cross- dimensional issues.”
2016-02-29 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7635 (2016) · source
“For our part, we shall provide requisite support to those efforts. An effective response to the difficult challenges in the Middle East and North Africa can only be found collectively. There is a well-known proposal from the Russian Federation for broad cooperation to push back against terrorism and ensure a political settlements of existing crises, which remains on the table.”
2016-01-26 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7610 (2016) · source
“ISIL is attempting to create corridors between conflict-ridden countries in the Middle East and the North African Mediterranean. We urge the Libyan parties to respond responsibly to the efforts of the United Nations to approach the issue of forming a Government of national unity and to unite in combating terrorism. We cannot call the situation in Yemen anything other than tragic. Fierce clashes in the country are continuing. Civilians are being killed, and the civilian infrastructure is being destroyed. We call on all the parties to the conflict to cease hostilities immediately and to resolve all existing problems through negotiations. We support the efforts of the Special Envoy of the Secretary-General on Yemen, Mr. Ahmed Ismail, to bring that situation to a political track and begin an inter-Yemeni dialogue for a sustainable settlement.”
2016-01-26 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7610 (2016) · source
“Russia is also helping in the humanitarian sphere by providing humanitarian assistance, including in Deir ez-Zor, where ISIL fighters have besieged over 100,000 civilians. We have heard various ideas regarding Russia's activities in Syria. We firmly reject them. It is especially strange when they are disseminated by countries that are part of the Western coalition, which, unlike the Russian Air and Space Forces, is acting in an extremely untransparent manner and not very effectively at all. But our American and English colleagues always refuse to give information about the numerous civilian victims of the coalition's air strikes in Syria, Iraq, Libya and Afghanistan. There is an urgent need to restore national unity in Libya, where there is increasing evidence of the presence of terrorist units there.”
2016-01-26 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7610 (2016) · source
“The launching of the Vienna process, which was endorsed by the Security Council in its resolution 2254 (2015), and the emergence of a number of factors conducive to a political settlement in Syria have created a unique prospect for progress in settling that conflict. We must seize that window of opportunity. We are surprised that even today some Security Council members continue to muddy the water by putting forward their unilateral interpretations of resolution 2254 (2015). That is irresponsible, and such habits should be cast aside. In order to assist the Syrian Government, the Russian Federation continues to provide military assistance to that Government in the fight against the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) and other terrorist groups. For the first time, ISIL forces have lost their footholds.”
2016-01-26 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7610 (2016) · source
“We think that the Security Council should play an important role in efforts to settle the Middle East conflict. So as to avoid yet another acute crisis with regard to the Gaza Strip, two tasks need to be tackled: extending the control of the central Palestinian authorities in the Gaza Strip and ensuring stability around that territory. The solutions to those tasks should be sought exclusively within the framework of ensuring inter-Palestinian unity based on the Palestine Liberation Organization. We are working on an ongoing basis on the issue with the regional parties. We expect that inter-Syrian talks will begin in the very near future.”
2016-01-26 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7610 (2016) · source
“In the current difficult situation, the Quartet, which speaks on behalf of the international community, is seeking a solution and a way out of the current dangerous impasse. As a result of the ministerial meetings of the Quartet on 30 September 2015 on the margins of the General Assembly at its seventieth session in New York City, as well as of similar meetings held on 23 October last year in Vienna, statements were adopted that focused on the need to implement the relevant United Nations resolutions on the settlement of the Middle East conflict. We believe that the recent visit of the United Nations Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process to Israel and Palestine was useful. Meetings took place with the chief negotiators of the parties, as well as with the leadership of the Foreign Ministries and security agencies.”
2016-01-26 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7610 (2016) · source
“The recent spike in violence in the Palestinian territories and in Israel is the most recent illustration of that trend. Progress towards a political settlement means that settlement activity needs to stop. We are worried about the plans of the Israeli authorities to confiscate another 150 hectares of land south of Jericho. The policy of fait accompli conducted by the Israeli authorities undermines, in a very literal sense, the two-State solution. We are convinced that the main strategic goal should be to revive the negotiating track. Currently, substantive measures must be taken together, based on Israeli and Palestinian agreements that strengthen the Palestinian political and economic institutions, taking into account, of course, the legitimate concerns of Israel in the area of security.”
2016-01-26 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7610 (2016) · source
“Mr. Churkin (Russian Federation) (spoke in Russian): In recent years, we have seen an increase in the potential for conflict in the vast expanses of the Middle East and North Africa - from Libya to Iraq. Against that backdrop, an unprecedented increase in the terrorist threat has also occurred. But in that context we must not underestimate the explosive nature of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, which has lasted far too long. The common opinion that that conflict is something to which one has grown accustomed and that it will resolve itself is an untenable fallacy. Efforts must be made to extricate the settlement of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict from its current sluggish state. Otherwise, the degradation of the situation will continue.”
2016-01-26 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7610 (2016) · source
“In Moscow we have followed the progress of the negotiations attentively and with interest, and have consistently supported bringing to a speedy conclusion the peace process aimed at ending Colombia's half- century of internal armed conflict. We are sure that the agreements that have been reached, along with the resolution adopted today, will be important milestones on the country's road to peace and will enable it to achieve a final settlement and implement it effectively.”
2016-01-25 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7609 (2016) · source
“We believe that the countries of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States will respond positively to the parties' request that they provide the mission with unarmed observers. We commend these important agreements and the diligent and determined efforts of the representatives of the Government of Colombia and of the FARC, as well as the active contributions made to the negotiating process by the guarantor countries - Cuba and Norway - and the observer countries, Venezuela and Chile. We take special note of Cuba's role in the process of working out mutually acceptable solutions to the complex problems facing the participants.”
2016-01-25 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7609 (2016) · source
“Mr. Churkin (Russian Federation) (spoke in Russian): We are pleased, Sir, to see you presiding over the Security Council today. We also welcome the participation in today's meeting of Foreign Minister Maria Angela Holguin Cuellar. We note the major significance of the agreements signed in Havana on 23 September 2015 by Colombia's President, Juan Manuel Santos Calderon, and the leader of the Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia (FARC) rebel group, Timoleon Jimenez, on the timetable for a final peace agreement, as well as the joint communique of 19 January agreed on by both sides, which requests international support for the peace process, including the establishment of a United Nations mission, which is what we have done in today's unanimous resolution 2261 (2016).”
2016-01-25 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7609 (2016) · source
“An inter-agency plan has been elaborated, in the framework of which financial intelligence and law enforcement agencies have conducted close to 5,000 investigations, resulting in the initiation of 270 criminal cases. Over 1,600 natural and legal persons are suspected of having provided material support to ISIL. With the support of the legislative branch, work to improve legislation to counter terrorism is ongoing. Our country will continue to take decisive measures to counter ISIL. We will defeat that evil only by presenting a common front. As the President Vladimir Putin of the Russian Federation has repeatedly said, combating the threat of terrorism will require the consolidation of the entire international community's efforts, with respect for the norms of international law and with a central role to be played by the Security Council.”
2015-12-17 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7587 (2015) · source
“The resolution calls for full coordination among States in their efforts to investigate crimes related to the financing of ISIL, Al-Qaida and associated organizations, including the extradition and prosecution of those guilty of such actions. Special stress is placed in that regard on cooperation with States on whose territory or against whose citizens such terrorist attacks have been carried out. In the Russian Federation, we are working consistently and systematically at the national level to counter and suppress the financing of terrorism. On 18 November, by presidential decree, an inter-agency committee to suppress the financing of terrorism was created.”
2015-12-17 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7587 (2015) · source
“Work will not be limited to the United Nations alone. The potential of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) to elaborate counter-financing and money- laundering measures will be activated. Forty-five days following the adoption of the resolution, the Secretary- General will issue a report containing concrete and frank assessments, including with respect to the sources of the illicit financing of ISIL. It is important that the resolution pinpoints ISIL as the most dangerous independent terrorist threat. That is why the sanctions list and special committee were both renamed. The listing criteria have been made clearer, which will allow for any natural or legal person who has been complicit with that criminal organization to be subject to sanctions.”
2015-12-17 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7587 (2015) · source
“What is noteworthy is that most of the weapons consignments are of Soviet design, manufactured in Eastern Europe on expired Soviet licenses. To eradicate ISIL's illicit economy, a quantitative strengthening of the measures undertaken by States and the international community as a whole is needed. An important step was taken today. Upon the initiative of Russia and the United States, the Council unanimously adopted resolution 2253 (2015), aimed at combating ISIL and other terrorist organizations and their financing. The key task of the resolution, in our eyes, lies in strengthening the regime for tracking and suppressing the channels used to illicitly finance ISIL and associated groups. The United Nations monitoring and sanctions mechanisms can now clearly focus on eradicating any manifestation of terrorist financing.”
2015-12-17 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7587 (2015) · source
“There is also trafficking in hostages and cultural artefacts, and foreign donations continue to flow in. The proceeds are used by ISIL to purchase weapons and ammunition. The supreme military council of ISIL monthly allocates over $30 million for that purpose. Purchases of weapons and ammunition for terrorists take place through shell companies in a number of Eastern European States. Only since September, under the pretext of strengthening the Syrian opposition, rocket missiles for Grad multiple rocket launcher systems and grenades for hand-held portable anti-tank grenade launchers, small arms and ammunition, as well as spare parts for Gvozdika self-propelled howitzers have all entered ISIL-controlled Syrian territory.”
2015-12-17 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7587 (2015) · source
“The oil purchased in Turkey for ISIL is transported to the Tupras Refinery in the city of Batman. However the main flow goes through Turkish ports located on the Mediterranean Sea, mainly Ceyhan. As a result of air strikes by the Russian Federation's aerospace forces, the volume of illicit oil exports has been substantially reduced. On the other hand, it has increased the importance for terrorists of alternative sources of financing through other natural resources and agricultural and industrial production. The total value of that basket is already approaching $700 million per year. For example, ISIL's income from the sale of phosphates is close to $250 million; from the sale of barley and rye, $200 million; and from cement, $100 million.”
2015-12-17 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7587 (2015) · source
“It is organized with the complicity of tenebrous economic structures, whereby oil is acquired by smugglers for cash in areas where it is extracted and refined. They freely cross borders, entering in direct contact with the heads ofISIL and conclude business deals with them. It is estimated that the illicit export of fuel by ISIL is reaching $1.5 million per day. The majority of oil products move through Turkey. In the majority of cases, oil is transported in trucks by road through the border crossing points of Karkamis, Akcakale, Cilvegozu and Onciipmar. The trucks number in the thousands, and the shipments are carried out on behalf of ISIL by a number of Turkish companies, including Serii in the city of Konya and Sam Otomotiv in the city of Antakya.”
2015-12-17 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7587 (2015) · source
“We can eradicate that absolute evil only by acting together, without double standards, and by fully suppressing the channels used to finance terrorism. In February, at Russia's initiative, the Security Council adopted resolution 2199 (2015), reaffirming and creating new commitments for States in preventing the financing of terrorism through the illicit trafficking of oil, other natural resources, antiquities and other sources. Unfortunately the obligations under the resolution are not being shouldered by all or everywhere. In that regard, it is clear that the special responsibility for suppressing the channels for the financing of ISIL unavoidably rests with the States bordering on Iraq and Syria. We are forced to note that the sale of fossil fuel from ISIL-controlled territory continues.”
2015-12-17 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7587 (2015) · source
“Mr. Churkin (Russian Federation) (spoke in Russian): We welcome the convening oftoday's Security Council timely and important meeting on suppressing the financing of terrorism. The consequences of the outbreak of terrorism in the Middle East and North Africa are spreading far beyond the region. The recent terrorist attacks demonstrated that the world is facing a threat of global nature and scale. At the same time, it is quite clear that its breeding ground lies in the Iraqi and Syrian territory that has been seized by the so-called Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL). There is a need to rebuff ISIL decisively and in a coordinated manner, and to that end to elaborate a clear mechanism for action by the international community.”
2015-12-17 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7587 (2015) · source
“Most important, he did not say that the Ukrainian leadership understood its responsibility for implementing the Minsk agreements of 12 February and resolution 2202 (2015), which made that into a legally binding document. The Kyiv authorities did the opposite - and not just once - they undermined the opportunity for a political settlement to the crisis in Ukraine. Under both the Normandy format and in the Tripartite Contact Group, Russia is carrying out its responsibilities. It will continue to do so. We hope that the political will necessary for the implementation of the Minsk agreements and resolution 2202 (2015) will prevail in the end among the Ukrainian authorities as well. Perhaps it really is time for a new approach. The meeting rose at1:50p.m.”
2015-12-11 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7576 (2015) · source
“Mr. Churkin (Russian Federation) (spoke in Russian): Unfortunately, our discussion today did not reach the requisite level of objective analysis with respect to the implementation of the Minsk agreements and resolution 2202 (2015). The pervasive lies in the statement of the representative of the United States of America prove that throughout the crisis in Ukraine, from its inception right to today, Washington, DC, by supporting its Kyiv partners, is playing a destructive role that departs from the context of the Normandy format. That is certainly one of the reasons that work on a political settlement is not so simple. Frankly speaking, there was no greater objectivity in the statement by the Ukrainian Minister for Foreign Affairs.”
2015-12-11 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7576 (2015) · source
“In conclusion, we confirm that there is no alternative to the implementation of the Minsk agreements of 12 February and of resolution 2202 (2015). We are pleased that, although the work of the Trilateral Contact Group is difficult, its participants are working in an orderly manner.”
2015-12-11 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7576 (2015) · source
“The Kyiv authorities have demonstrated their complete inability to react to or condemn such actions. The position of a number of States that claim to want the best for Ukraine is unhelpful in that regard. Recently, the Vice-President of the United States went to Kyiv. Addressing the Verkhovna Rada, he spoke about Minsk agreements. He said that Russia was presenting an obstacle to the implementation of the Minsk agreements. But everyone knows that Russia cannot modify the Ukrainian Constitution, adopt laws regulating elections in Ukraine or grant amnesty. It is puzzling that, in a similar vein, he did not take that opportunity to call on Ukrainian lawmakers and the President of Ukraine who hold such power.”
2015-12-11 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7576 (2015) · source
“We are convinced that, as long as the expression of such ideology is justified as part of the right to freedom of expression and as a potential factor in consolidating the country and society, we cannot legitimize the authorities in Kyiv. We were shocked to hear that a new Ukrainian military transport aircraft has been christened the Bandera, after the Nazi collaborator. Will they paint a swastika on it? A glaring example of the outrages committed by the armed nationalist radicals was the destruction of the transmission lines supplying electricity to Crimea, which has resulted in a crisis for schools, hospitals and other facilities on the peninsula. That threatened the lives of patients on life-support and constitutes a gross violation of the right to life.”
2015-12-11 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7576 (2015) · source
“Those could possibly wind up in the hands of terrorists. We are not ruling out the fact that, in order to conceal the problems in its domestic policy, the Kiev authorities continue not only to undermine the peace process in Donbas, but are also promoting military provocations. It is clear that one of the factors behind the political situation and the actions of the Kyiv authorities is the spread of the ideology of extremism in parts of Ukrainian society, including neo-Nazism and aggressive nationalism. That is the sort of ideology led to the coup d'etat in Kyiv in 2014 and the later so- called counter-terrorist operation in the south-east of the country.”
2015-12-11 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7576 (2015) · source
“The crimes committed in the Maidan have not been investigated, and the snipers and provocateurs are still walking free. No one has been brought to justice for the terrible murders of the victims in Odessa. International observers note the absence of efficiency and objectivity in investigations, which are being intentionally drawn out, and the efforts by the authorities to conceal the results of the investigations. There is growing pressure on the courts. The Ukrainian authorities are still prosecuting civilian activists from the opposition. Human rights activists continue to condemn Kyiv's actions with regard to its restrictions on the media and its exerting pressure on journalists. Kyiv is also surreptitiously selling weapons and military equipment to the Middle East through very dubious channels.”
2015-12-11 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7576 (2015) · source
“What are we to say when we see diplomatic efforts under way yet, at the same time, a seventh mobilization campaign is being planned and enormous amounts of scanty State funds are being generously spent on weapons? The deplorable situation in Ukraine is well known. Along with a very difficult economic situation, there is an ongoing struggle for power - reminiscent of gang violence - endemic corruption and an inability to establish Government administration even in regions that strongly supported the Maidan protests. There are many problems in Ukraine with the administration of the legal system. There is much evidence of human rights violations by the Ukrainian security forces and mercenary battalions, including torture, general mistreatment, abductions, arbitrary detention and extrajudicial punishment.”
2015-12-11 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7576 (2015) · source
“It would seem that no one is interested in freezing the conflict in the south-east of Ukraine, but in order to ensure a viable outcome and its final settlement, there needs to be political will on the part of the direct participants, which is clearly lacking, especially on the Ukrainian side. We have already discussed how Kyiv behaved after the Normandy format summit in Paris, where the agreements reached were simply disregarded. A mere appearance of dialogue with the people of Donbas and Luhansk emerged in the subgroups of the Contact Group, but the bellicose rhetoric on the part of Kyiv abounds and the military preparations continue.”
2015-12-11 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7576 (2015) · source
“The power supply to Donbas is unstable and there has been no effort to improve the damaged water supply, which is the result of shelling a 300-kilometer- long section of a water supply system that used to supply 400,000 people. In such an extremely difficult humanitarian situation in the south-east of Ukraine, Russia continues to offer humanitarian aid to the people of the Donbas region, which has been isolated by Kyiv, including medicine, warm clothing and food for hospitals, schools and community centres, among other forms of assistance. By 9 December, 46 convoys had delivered approximately 56 thousand tons of goods. As one can see, the implementation ofthe package of measures, is, to say the least, being hampered.”
2015-12-11 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7576 (2015) · source
“The authorities continue to be brought to trial in their own Ukrainian courts just to avoid paying benefits to the residents of Donbas. On 16 October, the highest administrative court of Ukraine ruled that it was illegal to suspend the disbursement of social benefits to citizens of the Donbas and Luhansk regions and ordered their resumption. And that was not the first time a Ukrainian court had handed down such a decision. I am sorry to say this, but in this pre-winter season, with increasing cold weather, the Ukrainian leadership has quietly been encouraging those who are working to make the situation for the people in that area unbearable.”
2015-12-11 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7576 (2015) · source