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

“President Poroshenko's unilateral proposal for a so-called peace plan was also merely another step on the road to further escalation, since the truce was predicated on capitulation on the part of the insurgents. That is all against a backdrop with no real steps towards launching a political process or negotiating with representatives of the regions. Where is the inclusive national dialogue promised by Kyiv, the constitutional reform, the decentralization of authority and the special status for the Russian language? All we are seeing is a fight with dissenters and a situation in which political parties and media that do not toe the line are banned. President Poroshenko has frequently made peaceful-sounding statements.”
2014-08-28 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7253 (2014) · source
“Mr. Churkin (Russian Federation) (spoke in Russian): The current escalating situation in south- eastern Ukraine is a direct consequence of Kyiv's reckless policy of waging war on its own people. With the support and under the influence of a number of well-known States, the Kyiv authorities have torpedoed all the political agreements for settling the crisis in Ukraine arrived at in the Geneva declaration of 17 April and the Berlin declaration of 2 July. Not to mention the authorities' abandonment of their previous positions in the agreement of 21 February, which opened the door to a real possibility for a civilized way out of the crisis.”
2014-08-28 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7253 (2014) · source
“Based on some of the proposals we have heard, one could conclude that many of the bodies and structures of the United Nations could be eliminated, with the exception of the Security Council. That would hardly be right. Finally, it is premature to speak of some sort of conflict-prevention architecture until there is a broader discussion of the matter. That should involve of all Member States.”
2014-08-21 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7247 (2014) · source
“Such reports can be useful if they are drafted in a professional and impartial way. It is important for them to focus on the practical benefits of the measures being proposed. We see no point in having the United Nations draft research-intensive publications in which the principles of the Charter of the United Nations are lost behind a facade of so-called innovative concepts. That task belongs to academic institutions. Nor should we lose too much time on the bureaucratic side of matters by hatching various entities with unclear mandates. In fact, we should not be engaged in a race for accountability, invoking unrealistic figures on the number of supposed conflicts resolved by the United Nations. It is better to have one example of real success than thousands of pages and millions of words.”
2014-08-21 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7247 (2014) · source
“Nor can we agree with insistent attempts to force the Security Council to take into account information and assessments of the Secretary-General and to adopt measures on that basis. In fact, that is an attempt to dilute the responsibility of the Council to maintain international peace and security. Furthermore, we should take into account that the Council does not have a monopoly on discussions and the use of preventive measures in such areas as mediation, disarmament and, most recently, the general political aspects of special commissions under the purview of the General Assembly. We should also not disregard the significant potential of regional and subregional organizations. There is no doubt that the Secretariat can analyse relevant issues and communicate its experience in their solution, as reflected in the reports it prepares.”
2014-08-21 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7247 (2014) · source
“Yet we should have no illusions that the system can be improved to such an extent that it can automatically check the temperature of a crisis and write out a standard prescription. Each situation requires a delicate, balanced and impartial approach and a patient search for a unique solution. We are convinced that early prevention cannot be based on an arbitrarily chosen mix of certain indicators of conflict; that paves the way for abuse. It is unacceptable to favour certain mechanisms available to the United Nations, even such important ones as human rights or development indicators. The evaluation methods of certain entities, which are not transparent and often biased in nature, should not be used as the universal bases for preventive action.”
2014-08-21 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7247 (2014) · source
“In Ukraine, we see how some countries are openly prodding Kyiv to continue the bloodletting and to reject proposals that offer a way to peaceful settlement. The agreements of 21 February and the Geneva declaration have been forgotten. The road map proposed by the Chairperson-in-Office of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe has been disregarded. Yet all those documents had real potential for resolving the political crisis before it morphed into armed conflict. The United Nations, as a universal international organization with unique legitimacy, plays a significant role in preventing conflicts. We agree that the successful early prevention of conflicts depends on the comprehensive use of the various tools available to the United Nations.”
2014-08-21 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7247 (2014) · source
“The proliferation of mediation efforts, not to mention competition among ambitious players all trying to win kudos for their roles as mediators and peace brokers, can end up adding fuel to the fire. Clearly, the actions of certain influential States are directly at odds with the goal of conflict prevention, thereby engendering serious crises. The consequences of those crises have led to the destabilization of entire countries or even regions. The situation following the invasion of Iraq has developed in such a way that the breakup of the country is now a possibility, and part of its territory could become a haven for international terrorists. We are also witnessing uncontrolled destabilization in Libya, with bleak prospects for overcoming that crisis.”
2014-08-21 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7247 (2014) · source
“Today, most crises are internal in character, and the border between assistance in the area of preventive diplomacy and pressure on domestic political processes is becoming tenuous, especially when this kind of assistance is provided at an early stage of a crisis. Unfortunately, we have often heard proposals in the Security Council that border on attempts to manage the internal affairs of States or to interfere in their constitutional processes. It is clearly important to strike the right balance. Too much support for one political group can only further stoke a conflict and undermine trust in the international community, and in the United Nations in particular.”
2014-08-21 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7247 (2014) · source
“Mr. Churkin (Russian Federation) (spoke in Russian): We welcome the participation in today's meeting of the Secretary-General and the High Commissioner for Human Rights. The Russian delegation voted in favour of resolution 2171 (2014) to prevent armed conflict, taking into account how important this issue is in the context of maintaining international pace and security. We believe that States have the main responsibility for conflict prevention. Any international assistance, including within the framework of the United Nations, should be carried out with the consent of the host country and cannot be imposed.”
2014-08-21 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7247 (2014) · source
“All the technical issues have been resolved, which was confirmed in a recent meeting of the Foreign Ministers of Germany, Russia, Ukraine and France in Berlin. We hope that no one will renew attempts to obstruct the delivery of humanitarian assistance from Russia, and that in the next few hours that effort can begin. At the same time, there remains an urgent need that the Ukrainian side guarantee the safety of humanitarian personnel. In conclusion, I would like to express our gratitude to the President of the ICRC, Mr. Maurer, for his personal active involvement in organizing the delivery of the Russian humanitarian assistance to the people in eastern Ukraine, who urgently need it.”
2014-08-19 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7244 (2014) · source
“Given those conditions, we attach great importance to the successful implementation of the effort to deliver Russian humanitarian assistance to the combat-weary areas of south-eastern Ukraine, in conjunction with the International Committee of the Red Cross. How many unfounded political insinuations have we had to listen to in that regard. The authorities in Kyiv responded in their own way, ratcheting up hostilities with the clear aim of cutting off the route negotiated with them for the humanitarian assistance from the Russian-Ukrainian border to Luhansk. The intensity of the shelling of Luhansk and its suburbs has increased, precisely in those places where it was planned to deliver humanitarian assistance. Nevertheless, the efforts taken by the Russian leadership have borne fruit.”
2014-08-19 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7244 (2014) · source
“At the meeting of the Council on 8 August, the Ukrainian representative stated that there was no humanitarian crisis in Ukraine (see S/PV.7239). As it has done previously, Kyiv would prefer to ignore the plight of hundreds of thousands of people in Donetsk and Luhansk who, through Kyiv's own fault, have been left without water, electricity, medicine, medical assistance and food. The continuing deterioration of the situation and the increase in humanitarian needs has been noted by the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Based on its data, just for the period from 10 to 15 August, more than 22,000 people have left Donetsk and Luhansk.”
2014-08-19 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7244 (2014) · source
“One of the priorities today must be the adoption of urgent measures to provide humanitarian assistance to the people of south-eastern Ukraine. One would recall that certain members of the Council have admired the "restraint" of the authorities in Kyiv, as if encouraging them to undertake more reckless military actions. Now that posture has led to hundreds of civilian casualties. The Government forces and mercenary punitive units continue to carry out indiscriminate artillery shelling against cities and other localities in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions, including using incendiary munitions. It is obvious that the only truly effective way to protect civilians in that conflict is an immediate, unconditional ceasefire, which we have repeatedly called for.”
2014-08-19 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7244 (2014) · source
“All of that serves to underscore the need for the additional mobilization of efforts by Member States, the United Nations and humanitarian organizations aimed at strengthening mechanisms to ensure the safety of humanitarian workers. We support the activities of the Secretariat to strengthen the new system of security levels in effect since 2011 and the implementation of the United Nations work aimed at protecting humanitarian personnel via the concept of standing and delivering. Our position is that each incidence of violence against humanitarian workers must be carefully investigated and the guilty brought to justice. Of course, the imperative must be strict compliance by humanitarian organizations of the guidelines laid out in General Assembly resolutions with respect to the provision of humanitarian assistance.”
2014-08-19 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7244 (2014) · source
“We are seriously concerned about information contained in the latest report of the Secretary-General (A/68/489) on the safety and security of humanitarian personnel and the number of killed and wounded humanitarian workers in 2013. That number is a record figure compared to all previous periods. Eleven staff members of the United Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East died in July in the course of the bloody conflict in Gaza, which has yet to be ended. The international community was shaken by incidents involving the bombing of United Nations schools sheltering Palestinian civilians. Dozens of volunteers from the Red Crescent died in Syria while implementing their humanitarian functions.”
2014-08-19 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7244 (2014) · source
“Against the backdrop of ongoing armed conflicts, the provision of humanitarian assistance has gained the distinction of being one of the most dangerous types of activities. In that regard, the Council has repeatedly called upon the parties to armed conflicts to scrupulously comply with the provisions of international humanitarian law, to respect and protect humanitarian personnel and humanitarian cargoes and to take all the necessary steps to ensure the safe, rapid and unimpeded movement of humanitarian cargo, equipment and personnel. Despite the measures undertaken by the international community, efforts to ensure the safety of humanitarian personnel and United Nations personnel remain hampered, and their lives and health are still threatened.”
2014-08-19 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7244 (2014) · source
“Mr. Churkin (Russian Federation) (spoke in Russian): We are grateful to the Deputy Secretary- General, Mr. Jan Eliasson, to the President of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), Mr. Maurer, and to Mr. Karokhail for their participation in today's meeting and their substantive briefings. The protection of humanitarian personnel is an important aspect of protecting civilians in armed conflict. Today, as we commemorate World Humanitarian Day, once again we would like to pay tribute to the bravery and self-sacrifice of personnel from international humanitarian agencies who are carrying out the crucial function of providing assistance to and easing the suffering of civilians in trying conditions.”
2014-08-19 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7244 (2014) · source
“We call for an immediate end to military actions in the country and a solution to the humanitarian problems. A very important step should be the speedy beginning of constitutional reforms, which should involve all the regions of Ukraine and would be open to public consideration. As for the unfounded conjectures in the report regarding the situation in Crimea, which is part of the Russian Federation, this cannot be a subject for discussion at today's meeting, which is dedicated to the situation in Ukraine. Having adopted the historic decision on reunification with Russia, the inhabitants of Crimea have delivered themselves from the horrors that are unfolding for everyone to see in the south- eastern part of Ukraine.”
2014-08-08 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7239 (2014) · source
“Bearing in mind the fact that the justice system is paralysed, what sort of impartial investigations and prosecution can we expect in Ukraine? The Government of Ukraine is ignoring the commitments it has undertaken, including under the Geneva statement of 17 April. The process of constitutional reform in Ukraine, which envisions decentralizing power, expanding the authority of the regions and giving the Russian language special status, is being put off indefinitely. In fact, there is now talk of strengthening presidential power, which is exactly the opposite of what was demanded by the Maidan protesters demanded, whom the authorities are trying to get rid of. That begs the question, what did the people fight for? We wish once again to underscore the harmfulness of attempts to resolve the crisis in Ukraine through violence.”
2014-08-08 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7239 (2014) · source
“A clear example of the disregard for the principle of the rule oflaw is the lack ofprogress in investigating the serious crimes committed in the Maidan and in Odessa and Mariupol. In the current atmosphere of fear, is it any wonder that Odessans and the citizens of other areas do not trust the investigators sent by Kyiv and refuse to cooperate with them, even as documents relating to these crimes are disappearing without a trace? This is mentioned in the report. It is clear, and it is confirmed in the report, that the armed forces, including the Ukrainian security services, now have unprecedented power and are clearly violating fundamental human rights. They are seizing people without due process, using violence against detainees, and using the tactics of intimidation and threats to extract testimony from witnesses.”
2014-08-08 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7239 (2014) · source
“Regarding the human rights situation in Ukraine, one cannot focus solely on the territory under the control of the self-defence formations, which, judging by the report, suffers from a complete absence of the rule of law. Is there any rule of law in the rest of Ukraine? There is a passing reference in the report to a number of steps that are aimed at banning the Communist Party of Ukraine. These legitimately elected parliamentarians are currently being brutally persecuted, including by law-enforcement agencies, for their political convictions. This is but another step in the systematic punishment of those who have come to power as a result of the armed revolt of their political opponents, who, by the way, just happen to represent the south-eastern part of the country.”
2014-08-08 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7239 (2014) · source
“Perhaps one should also legitimize the foreign mercenaries that are taking part in the so-called anti-terrorist operation, something the Ukrainian authorities no longer conceal. It would be remiss of me not to mention the extremely biased picture painted by the report regarding the situation of journalists. Allegedly only one representative of the Russian media was detained and then released by the Ukrainian army, and not a word is said about the detention and beating up of journalists from the television channels Zvezda and LifeNews. The reported version, that the two Russian journalists who died could have been killed by the self- defence formations, is false.”
2014-08-08 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7239 (2014) · source
“More than 820,000 Ukrainians are currently finding shelter in Russia. Requests for regulating their status total 188,000. In our territory we have set up 643 temporary shelters for those who have nowhere else to go. Currently there are 47,500 individuals there, of which more than 16,000 are children. The report gives plenty of useful advice to the Ukrainian authorities. It suggests incorporating those who are eradicating the civilian population of south- eastern Ukraine, the so-called volunteer battalions, into the armed forces of Ukraine. The criminals who are currently killing women and children and committing other serious human rights violations must be arrested and brought to justice. But instead of this, it is proposed that they should be legitimized.”
2014-08-08 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7239 (2014) · source
“According to the information we have received, there are 1,223 child orphans in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions. The authors of the report termed the efforts of the self-defence formations to take those orphans to safety to the Russian Federation as attempted kidnapping. The report also contains a reference to seriously ill children to whom Russia could provide expert assistance. It states with satisfaction that as a result of the intervention of the Ukrainian authorities, the children remained in Donetsk. It seems that United Nations philanthropists believe that children thrive under fire. Russia's requests to human rights bodies regarding the evacuation of children have not received any response from Kyiv. What do United Nations human rights defenders think about this? Do children not deserve safety?”
2014-08-08 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7239 (2014) · source
“Overall, 156 power substations, 18 boilers and seven gas lines were destroyed. These are but a few examples. The report pushes the idea that the self-defence formations are to blame for everything. They are accused of everything short of cannibalism. For example, in paragraph 5 it is stated that those formations were deliberately targeting critically important infrastructure. In other words, they are not only firing upon themselves, they are doing it intentionally. What has led to this brilliant conclusion? And why is there no similar conclusion regarding the actions of the Ukrainian authorities, which are methodically bombing residential neighbourhods'? Sometimes from one day to the next they are fighting on the same, almost destroyed high-rise building. A separate topic is the situation of children.”
2014-08-08 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7239 (2014) · source
“Nothing is being said regarding the flowery promise made by President Poroshenko to the inhabitants of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions on this very topic; there is no reference to this treacherous breach of promises. The escalation of the so-called anti-terrorist operation, with its many casualties among the civilian population, continues. Ukrainian security forces are shelling residential neighbourhoods and infrastructure. There is no end in sight to the shelling of Gorlovka. Yesterday, five individuals died there and 10 were injured; a church burned down; a power station was destroyed; and the water supply has been interrupted. Thursday morning, the centre of Donetsk was again shelled. Shells hit a hospital admission ward as well as residential high-rises and a bus depot.”
2014-08-08 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7239 (2014) · source
“In reading the report, what jumps out is the absence ofwhat would seem to be the first thing one would expect of United Nations human rights defenders, namely, a call on the sides to cease all military activity, as if the right to life were not the principal right of any human being. The report gave no space to a condemnation of the instances of use by the Ukrainian security forces, in populated areas, of artillery, multiple-launch rocket systems and phosphorus shells, which are prohibited by international conventions. Is there even any passing reference to the promise made by Ukraine not to bomb the Donetsk and Luhansk regions and to ensure their security?”
2014-08-08 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7239 (2014) · source
“Moreover, yesterday the Ukrainian authorities stated that they were interrupting the ceasefire regime established pursuant to resolution 2166 (2014) so as to create the conditions necessary for an objective international inquiry into the deaths of the passengers on the Malaysia Airlines airliner, as a result of which this investigation is confronted by serious problems. I shall now return to the issue under discussion at this meeting. The Security Council did not request the report of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights and therefore should not be discussing it, especially since the report is interesting merely as an example of elegant political rhetoric, where facts and conclusions are painstakingly shaped to fit a particular political requirement.”
2014-08-08 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7239 (2014) · source
“Mr. Churkin (Russian Federation) (spoke in Russian): I should like to start with two introductory comments. First and foremost, it would be remiss of me not to note that we deem completely wrong the engineering decision that was taken during the reconstruction of the Security Council Chamber. Mr. Simonovie should not cover up the historical picture by which the world recognizes the Security Council. That error must be corrected. Secondly, we understand that everyone has the right to a vacation, including Mr. Simonovie. However, it is clear that he is a little divorced from reality here. It is not clear what proposal by President Poroshenko Mr. Simonovie is praising concerning the start of talks on a ceasefire. We know nothing about any such proposal.”
2014-08-08 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7239 (2014) · source
“We would like to once again reaffirm our readiness to closely cooperate with the humanitarian agencies and all relevant organizations and institutions that not only can but must play their role in providing assistance and help to the people of eastern Ukraine. We cherish the hope that today's Council meeting will serve to promote the coordination of our common efforts with them.”
2014-08-05 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7234 (2014) · source
“Mr. Churkin (Russian Federation) (spoke in Russian): Unfortunately, a number of members of the Security Council have not heeded our call to reject any politicizing of this discussion of the humanitarian situation in the eastern part of Ukraine on the provision of humanitarian assistance to the population in need. Someone, as always, has protected the Kyivan authorities by distorting the role of the Russian Federation, others have repeated speeches that they have given previously in Security Council meetings, and some have said that the killing and wounding ofindividuals as a result ofthe armed conflict in Ukraine is not worthy of a separate discussion. Such propaganda was repeated by the representative of Ukraine as well. We are grateful to those members of the Council who shared our concern and our alarm.”
2014-08-05 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7234 (2014) · source
“Finally, Kyiv's approach of violently repressing the eastern regions will have very difficult consequences for the entire Ukrainian population, and that is simply regrettable.”
2014-08-05 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7234 (2014) · source
“We will allow the International Committee of the Red Cross monitor the convoys, their transport routes and the distribution of aid. We think that, first and foremost, there is a need to provide food, medicine and medical equipment, as well as water purification systems and generators. There are many cases in which providing assistance to civilians suffering from an armed conflict is very difficult. That applies, for example, to the situations in the areas controlled by terrorist organizations in South Sudan, Iraq and Syria. The situation in eastern Ukraine demands that an end be put to the political posturing and that international humanitarian principles be genuinely respected.”
2014-08-05 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7234 (2014) · source
“We have also appealed to them to allow humanitarian assistance from Russia to be let in. But Kyiv has rejected all ofthose proposals. Russia calls upon the international community to take emergency measures to improve the humanitarian situation in the east of Ukraine. Because of that, on 4 August, Russian Minister for Foreign Affairs, Mr. Sergey Lavrov, once again sent an official appeal to humanitarian agencies associated with the United Nations, the OSCE, the Council of Europe and the ICRC to create a humanitarian mission. We would like to send a convoy with Russian humanitarian assistance under the aegis and with the support of the ICRC to Donetsk and Luhansk and other areas of Ukraine where internally displaced persons from the east are concentrated. We stand ready to act with full transparency.”
2014-08-05 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7234 (2014) · source
“Some - about 170,000 of them - have come to Russian migration services to legalize their situation. Centres have been opened for refugees. Our country stands ready to undertake that great burden. We do not need material assistance from outside. We stand ready to provide human assistance to Ukrainians on our own. The most dramatic situation in the east of Ukraine is on the health front. The majority of doctors have been evacuated. It must be understood that in the areas where military clashes are taking place the most vulnerable have been left behind, and they have no way of leaving. It seems that the Kyiv authorities are not interested at all. We have made multiple appeals to them to create humanitarian corridors to evacuate children and the vulnerable, including orphans.”
2014-08-05 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7234 (2014) · source
“According to the most conservative estimates by international humanitarian agencies, more than 1,367 people have been killed and thousands have been wounded, including children. Those are worrisome numbers. In one day alone, 40 people were killed in the city of Golov. More than 4 million people live in the areas where military operations are taking place. Of them, more than 200,000 have been left without drinking water. There is a critical health and epidemiological situation in Luhansk. Houses are without electricity and, because of shelling, there is no clean water. Telephone communications are impaired and there are no garbage removal services. Ukrainians have begun to leave the country en masse. Almost 800,000 Ukrainians have come to Russia since the beginning ofthe crisis.”
2014-08-05 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7234 (2014) · source
“Locals are continuously reporting that phosphorous bombs and cluster bombs are being used. There is indiscriminate shelling of housing blocks and critical civilian infrastructure. In many small towns, about 80 per cent of the houses have been destroyed. According to most conservative estimates, more than 600 buildings have been reduced to rubble. Today there was a rocket attack in Shakhtyorsk. On 2 August, Ukrainian artillery shelled the city of Pervamaisk, where homes, two electrical power plants and hospitals were destroyed. As a result of shelling by the Ukrainian armed forces, shells have been falling into Russia. There have been about 20 such incidents. On 3 August, a Ukrainian army mine exploded at the Gukovo crossing, Rostov oblast, where monitors from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) were working.”
2014-08-05 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7234 (2014) · source
“The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has officially recognized that there is an internal armed conflict in the east of Ukraine. In spite of international agreements, including the 17 April Geneva agreement and the 2 July Berlin agreement, both of which were signed onto by the Ukrainian Government, Kyiv continues to step up its military operations, taking hundreds and thousands of lives with it. According to information we have received, the punitive militia are playing a leading role. They are subordinate to no armed forces in Ukraine. They are carrying the orders of certain leaders of the Security Council of the country and are financed by local oligarchs. Overflights of cities have become a daily reality. Artillery, tanks and Grad rockets are used.”
2014-08-05 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7234 (2014) · source
“Mr. Churkin (Russian Federation) (spoke in Russian): We thank the Director of the Coordination and Response Division of the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), Mr. John Ging, for his briefing on the situation in eastern Ukraine. We think that OCHA and other humanitarian agencies should regularly inform the Security Council of the humanitarian situation in the region and provide objective statistics on the situation of civilians, including data on those wounded or killed, as well as on the destruction of civilian infrastructure. On a human scale, the situation in the east, particularly in Donetsk and Luhansk, is disastrous. Today there is a definite need to speak about a true war.”
2014-08-05 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7234 (2014) · source
“The process of creating new State authorities should belong entirely to Iraq. That is the only way that national reconciliation can be achieved. We note the meeting held on 28 July at the initiative of the Rwandan presidency on the issue of interaction between the United Nations and regional organizations in the area of peacekeeping (S/PV.7228). We support the intensification of such cooperation on the basis of Chapter VIII of the Charter of the United Nations. In conclusion, we would like to wish the delegation of the United Kingdom, which will lead the Council in August, every possible success.”
2014-07-30 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7231 (2014) · source
“We cannot rule out the possibility that it will splinter into warring territorial entities. Extremists who feel free there to act as they wish have laid channels of communication with their comrades throughout the Middle East and North Africa. The closing of the United Nations mission and the evacuation of the staff of a number of Western embassies are clear evidence of the escalation of the current situation. We may want to rethink the nature and objectives of the United Nations presence in Libya. The situation in Iraq remains deeply worrying. The external support being given to terrorists in Syria has become a catalyst for the current worsening of the situation, though its roots lie considerably deeper, at least as far back as the events of 2003. Now Islamists are threatening the entire Middle East and beyond.”
2014-07-30 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7231 (2014) · source
“The priority now should become a speedy cessation of hostilities and the establishment of a peaceful negotiation process on the basis of the Geneva process of 17 April and the Berlin declaration of 2 July. Among other topics, the international community took an important step in the fight against terrorism on 28 July with the Russian-initiated presidential statement condemning the illegal trading in oil with terrorist groups occurring in Syria and Iraq (S/PRST/2014/l4). We hope that the successful implementation of resolution 2165 (2014), adopted on 14 July, will enable us in some way to alleviate the suffering of Syria's civilian population. The statements on 17 July by Special Representative Mitri and Mr. Mohamed Abdulaziz, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Libya, confirmed that the situation in that country is deteriorating rapidly.”
2014-07-30 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7231 (2014) · source
“The number of those who are crossing the border and staying in the Russian Federation has reached the hundreds of thousands. Rockets launched by Ukrainian forces continue to fall on Russian territory. On 29 July, Russian customs personnel at the Gukovo border crossing were again deliberately fired on. It appears that Kyiv does not want the OSCE observer mission to conduct its normal work monitoring the situation on the Russian-Ukrainian border. We demand that Kyiv stop firing on Russian territory and ensure the international observers' safety. We have repeatedly warned against the disastrous attempts to solve the political crisis in Ukraine by force and called for establishing a mutually respectful and inclusive dialogue between all the principal political forces and between Kyiv and the regions.”
2014-07-30 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7231 (2014) · source
“Strikes are hitting civilian targets, including transport and public routes, hospitals and residential areas. In Horlivka alone, dozens of civilians have died. And in most cases there are no militias to be found anywhere near. Does the information that we have been seeing on the use of Ukrainian military ballistic missiles not speak to rampant military escalation? All of this fully supports our description of the Kyiv authorities' actions as a punitive operation against its own people. Even according to the official data, the number of casualties among the civilian population already exceeds 1,000, and unofficially there are many more. At least 19 people have died just today. A stream of refugees continue to arrive on Russian territory, with more than 150,000 so far seeking temporary asylum, residence permits or citizenship.”
2014-07-30 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7231 (2014) · source
“In a remarkable statement, President Poroshenko said that the hardworking and peaceful people who make up the majority of the residents of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions had their sympathy, love and respect; that the Ukrainian armed forces and its national guard and other units would never permit themselves to use force against civilians or attack residential neighbourhoods; that Ukrainian soldiers and guards would risk their own lives rather than threaten women, children and elderly men. Such, he said, had always been the chivalrous nature of Ukraine's armies. Beautiful, no? In practice, however, the cruelty of the Kyiv authorities' attacks simply spiraled. Donetsk, Luhansk, Horlivka and many other residential areas have suffered massive bombardments, including indiscriminate firing of Grad rockets and aerial bombing.”
2014-07-30 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7231 (2014) · source
“Our specialists began working as soon as they were asked to by Holland, taking on a leadership role in the conduct of the international investigations. We have handed over our monitoring data from the disaster area to international organizations, including the United Nations and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE). We hope that others too will take such concrete and constructive action instead of spreading unsubstantiated accusations and insinuations. Early in the month there were glimmers of hope that the vicious circle of violence in Ukraine might finally be broken. On 2 July the Foreign Ministers of Russia, Germany, France and Ukraine issued the Berlin declaration.”
2014-07-30 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7231 (2014) · source
“In that respect, I would ask the representative of Luxembourg to familiarize herself a little better with those statements and the statements of those who are present on the ground, so as to ensure that she does not come here with claims regarding what is taking place over there. The statement made here by the representative of Lithuania is something on which I simply will not comment. No objectivity or impartiality can be expected from that delegation. And thus, as before, the investigators were unable to reach the site of the disaster. Russia is cooperating in every way with the investigation. Our relevant organization, Rosaviatsiya, on the basis of its wealth of experience, has come up with a series of questions that must be clarified in order to elicit a full picture of the tragedy.”
2014-07-30 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7231 (2014) · source
“However, it was quite unceremoniously blocked by some Security Council members which were clearly not interested in seeing that resolution implemented fully. We welcome today's statement by the Secretary- General calling for an immediate cessation of combat activities around the crash site. We note that the Netherlands, Australia and Malaysia mobilized significant resources to carry out investigations at the crash site and deployed groups of experts to Kyiv and Donetsk. Many of them have established solid contacts with the militias. For example, the special envoy of the Prime Minister of Australia, Angus Houston, noted the militia members' professionalism and their constructive attitude regarding cooperation and the investigation.”
2014-07-30 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7231 (2014) · source
“That promise was, however, immediately broken, and Ukrainian officials quite publicly spoke of a new task - cleansing the territory of militias and taking it over. Such actions are a direct violation of Security Council resolution 2166 (2014) and are fraught with the most dangerous of consequences for the conduct of an objective and impartial international investigation. We fear that the authorities in Kyiv are driven by a desire to destroy any evidence that would point to their role in the Malaysia airlines disaster. On 28 July, the Russian delegation proposed that the members of the Security Council adopt a simple, unambiguous press statement that would bolster the provisions of resolution 2166 (2014) on the ceasefire.”
2014-07-30 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7231 (2014) · source