14 December 2016 marks the forty-second
anniversary of the adoption of the UN General Assembly Resolution “Definition
of Aggression” (3314 (XXIX)).
Having illegally occupied the
Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol and carried out
further military intervention in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions, the Russian
Federation initiated an unprovoked military aggression against Ukraine. The
Russian Federation thus has blatantly violated its international obligations
and commitments as envisaged by the UN Charter, the 1975 CSCE Helsinki Final
Act, the 1994 Budapest Memorandum, and the 1997
Treaty on Friendship, Cooperation, and Partnership between
Ukraine and the Russian Federation.
The Russian Federation has not
only violated the sovereignty, territorial integrity and political independence
of Ukraine – it has threatened international peace and security at large. The
third year of Russia’s military aggression continues to bring pain and
suffering to the people of Ukraine of all ethnic backgrounds. The total number
of victims of this undeclared war in the heart of Europe exceeds 10 thousand.
In view of this, the Ministry
of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine continues to affirm, in clear and unequivocal
terms, that the occupation and subsequent attempt to annex the Autonomous
Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol, as well as Russia’s illegal
actions in Donbas, fall squarely under the definition of an act of aggression,
in line with the provisions of paragraphs (а), (b), (c), (d), (e) and (g)
of Article 3 of the Annex to UN General Assembly Resolution 3314
(XXIX). Such actions constitute the most serious crime against
international peace, which entails international responsibility of the Russian
Federation as a state and international criminal responsibility of its senior leadership.
The Russian Federation is a
party to an international armed conflict currently underway in our country, and
the political and military leadership of Russia bears full responsibility for
its planning, preparation, initiation and waging, as well as responsibility for
numerous human casualties, material damage and destruction.
No political, economic or
military considerations can justify the treacherous Russian aggression against
Ukraine. War cannot be a means of doing politics in the twenty-first century.
Ukraine is grateful to the
Member States of the United Nations for their consistent and strong support in
countering Russian aggression and overcoming its consequences. We call for
increasing international pressure on the Russian Federation in order to stop
the aggression and bring about complete withdrawal from the territory of
Ukraine of the Russian armed forces, Russia-controlled illegal armed groups and
mercenaries, along with weapons and military equipment deployed in the
Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol (Ukraine) or illegally
transferred to the terrorist organizations "DNR" and "LNR",
as well as to revoke all acts aimed at legitimizing the attempted annexation of
the Crimean peninsula and to undertake its further de-occupation.
Only Ukraine’s full control
over the entire length of its state border and firm guarantees of its
sovereignty, territorial integrity and independence can safeguard international
peace and security.
No comments:
Post a Comment