2024 RT Amination Banner.gif

China Daily

News> World> Content
Published: 10:48, February 15, 2022 | Updated: 10:53, February 15, 2022
UN chief calls for diplomacy to defuse Russia-Ukraine tensions
By Xinhua
Published:10:48, February 15, 2022 Updated:10:53, February 15, 2022 By Xinhua

In this file photo taken on Dec 21, 2021 UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres attends a press conference at the end of his visit to crisis-ridden Lebanon, in the capital Beirut. (ANWAR AMRO / AFP)

UNITED NATIONS/KYIV/MOSCOW/WASHINGTON/MINSK - UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Monday called for diplomacy to defuse the heightened tensions between Russia and Ukraine.

In a press encounter, Guterres said he was deeply worried about the current tensions and increased speculation about a potential military conflict.

"The price in human suffering, destruction and damage to European and global security is too high to contemplate. We simply cannot accept even the possibility of such a disastrous confrontation," he said.

"There is no alternative to diplomacy. All issues, including the most intractable, can and must be addressed and resolved through diplomatic frameworks. It is my firm belief that this principle will prevail," said Guterres.

There is no alternative to diplomacy. All issues, including the most intractable, can and must be addressed and resolved through diplomatic frameworks. It is my firm belief that this principle will prevail.

Antonio Guterres, UN Secretary-General

Earlier on Monday, the secretary-general held a virtual meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. He also spoke separately with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba.

Guterres said he will remain fully engaged in the hours and days to come.

He said, as secretary-general, it is his duty to appeal for the full respect of the UN Charter, a fundamental pillar of international law.

He quoted part of Article 2 of the UN Charter: "All Members shall settle their international disputes by peaceful means in such a manner that international peace and security, and justice, are not endangered. All Members shall refrain in their international relations from the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any state, or in any other manner inconsistent with the Purposes of the United Nations."

The time is now to defuse tensions and de-escalate actions on the ground. There is no place for incendiary rhetoric. Public statements should aim to reduce tensions, not inflame them, he said.

ALSO READ: Ukraine tensions: Eastern Europe braces for refugees

Guterres welcomed the recent flurry of diplomatic contacts and engagements, including between heads of state, but said more needs to be done.

"I have made my good offices available and we will leave no stone unturned in the search for a peaceful solution. Abandoning diplomacy for confrontation is not a step over a line, it is a dive over a cliff," he said. "In short, my appeal is this: do not fail the cause of peace."

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky (right) and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz attend their joint news conference following the talks at The Mariinskyi Palace in Kyiv, Ukraine on Feb 14, 2022. (EFREM LUKATSKY / AP)

Zelensky, Scholz discussed regional security

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Monday held a meeting with visiting German Chancellor Olaf Scholz to discuss regional security challenges, the presidential press service reported.

After the talks in Kyiv, Zelensky told reporters that the two parties talked over the peace process in and around Ukraine and the legal guarantees that would help to protect Ukraine.

In particular, Zelensky said that Ukraine needs energy security guarantees due to the risks associated with the Nord Stream 2 natural gas pipeline.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that Ukraine needs energy security guarantees due to the risks associated with the Nord Stream 2 natural gas pipeline

Besides, the parties discussed the steps that have been made within the framework of a peaceful settlement in Ukraine's eastern Donbas region, in particular the two rounds of talks in the Normandy format at the level of political advisors.

ALSO READ: Putin-Biden talks on Ukraine 'businesslike, balanced'

"We expect that in the near future we will be able to hold further talks and agree on a summit of the leaders of the Normandy Four," Zelensky said.

Zelensky and Scholz also discussed Ukraine's aspirations to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization during their talks.

At the press conference after the talks, Scholz said that Ukraine's possible accession to NATO is currently "out of the agenda", Interfax-Ukraine news agency reported.

Ukraine and Germany are members of the Normandy format that also includes Russia and France.

Ukrainian servicemen survey the impact areas from shells that landed close to their positions during the night on a front line outside Popasna, Luhansk region, eastern Ukraine on Feb 14, 2022. (VADIM GHIRDA / AP)

Ukraine, Belarus discussed mutual trust on security

Meanwhile, the defense ministers of Belarus and Ukraine, Viktor Khrenin and Olexiy Reznikov, discussed the current state of military cooperation and steps to strengthen confidence and security in the region in a telephone conversation on Monday.

According to the press service of the Ministry of Defense of Belarus, the talks were held on the initiative of the Ukrainian side.

During the conversation, Khrenin noted that Belarus is not the initiator of tensions in relations with Ukraine. Reznikov offered the resumption of cooperation between the two countries on security issues.

The ministers discussed military exercises and expressed the confidence that they do not pose security threats.

A woman walks past the US Embassy in Kyiv, Ukraine, Jan 24, 2022. (EFREM LUKATSKY / AP)

US embassy in Ukraine to be relocated

We are in the process of temporarily relocating our Embassy operations in Ukraine from our Embassy in Kyiv to Lviv due to the dramatic acceleration in the buildup of Russian forces.

Antony Blinken, US Secretary of State

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced Monday that the United States will temporarily relocate its embassy in Ukraine from the capital city of Kyiv to the western city of Lviv, citing escalating tensions on Ukraine's borders.

"We are in the process of temporarily relocating our Embassy operations in Ukraine from our Embassy in Kyiv to Lviv due to the dramatic acceleration in the buildup of Russian forces," Blinken said.

ALSO READ: Diplomatic efforts underway to defuse Russia-Ukraine tensions

 "The Embassy will remain engaged with the Ukrainian government, coordinating diplomatic engagement in Ukraine," the secretary said, adding that his country also remains "engaged with the Russian government" and that the "path for diplomacy remains available."

The State Department on Saturday ordered the departure of most US direct hire employees from the embassy in Kyiv, a decision it claimed was made "due to the continued threat of Russian military action" against neighboring Ukraine.

A woman walks past the building of Russia's State Duma, the lower house of the Parliament, in central Moscow on Nov 27, 2020. (ALEXANDER NEMENOV / AFP)

State Duma to discuss resolutions on Lugansk, Donetsk

Vyacheslav Volodin, chairman of Russia's lower house of parliament, the State Duma, said Monday that the parliament would consider two resolutions on the recognition of eastern Ukraine's Lugansk and Donetsk regions as independent.

The appeal will be considered and voted upon during the parliament's plenary session on Tuesday, Volodin said in a telegram post.

According to the chairman, the first resolution will be sent directly to Russian President Vladimir Putin after it is adopted, while the second will be sent to the Russian Foreign Ministry and government structures for further consideration.

"Washington is escalating tensions, supplying weapons to Ukraine together with European countries, Kyiv doesn't comply with the Minsk agreements," he wrote.

READ MORE: Expert: Putin-Macron talks may ease tensions over Ukraine

"All this poses threats and risks to the lives of our citizens and compatriots living in the Donetsk and Lugansk People's Republics," Volodin added.

Share this story

CHINA DAILY
HONG KONG NEWS
OPEN
Please click in the upper right corner to open it in your browser !