UN Security Council Holds Meeting on Ukraine Initiated by Russia

The member states of the UN Security Council held a meeting today regarding Ukraine, initiated by Russia. The global organization has presented details of the meeting.

Deputy Permanent Representative of Russia to the UN, Dmitry Polyansky, stated that the Russian delegation initiated the meeting to draw the Security Council's attention to actions and statements that hinder the diplomatic resolution of the Ukrainian crisis.

According to Polyansky, Russia has never opposed the diplomatic opportunities that are currently being discussed in the West. Reminding of the resumption of the Istanbul negotiations, Polyansky noted that all previously discussed agreements on humanitarian issues have been implemented.

The Russian representative declared that the Ukrainian crisis is merely a derivative of a broader crisis arising from the long-standing efforts of Western countries to ignore Russian security interests. “Something must be done in that direction as well. We hope that the healthy forces in Europe and America will take more positive steps than the next sanctions against Russia, to which we have long adjusted. Otherwise, the situation prevailing in Europe and around the world will not stabilize, and we will not escape this vicious circle of escalation and threats,” he said.

The Russian representative urged Western countries to cooperate rather than impose restrictions.

In turn, the US representative, Deputy Permanent Representative of the US to the UN, John Kelly, announced that the US president has set a deadline for establishing a ceasefire. “President Donald Trump has made it clear that the end of military operations should occur by August 8,” he stated, adding that Washington is ready to take additional measures to secure peace.

The diplomat reminded of the US president’s July 14 statement regarding the sale of defensive armaments to NATO allies, which could then send those weapons elsewhere. “The Russian Federation and Ukraine must agree on a ceasefire and sustainable peace,” said the US representative.