The UN Security Council met on Monday afternoon, January 31, to discuss the crisis in Ukraine. Russia tried to prevent the meeting from taking place, but did not muster the necessary support. And the atmosphere was quite tense throughout the session.
With our correspondent in New York, Carie Nooten
Russian Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia, who did everything to prevent this meeting from taking place, attacked the United States directly, and did not answer any questions from his fellow diplomats, as the American ambassador pointed out. Thomas Greenfield.
Then he left the Council Chamber even before his Ukrainian counterpart spoke. In a hurry for another appointment, he said, before stopping for fifteen minutes with the press.
Ukraine hopes for a diplomatic solution
The Ukrainian ambassador Sergiy Kyslytsya thus expressed all his frustration with the UN system: he still hopes for a diplomatic solution, and for the members of the UN to become more involved. ” Everyone would suffer from a war “, he said. He recalled both the inaction of the organization in 2014, and that a conflict in 2022 would have consequences beyond the borders of his country.
The Council will discuss Ukraine again in two weeks, during a regular meeting devoted to the Minsk Accords aimed at pacifying the Donbass.
Putin and Macron talk about “security guarantees”
Russian and French Presidents Vladimir Putin and Emmanuel Macron met on Monday by telephone for the second time in four days to discuss the crisis in Ukraine, Moscow and Paris said on Monday.
” The exchange of views continued on the situation around Ukraine and issues related to providing Russia with long-term and legally established security guarantees “said the Russian presidency in a press release. According to the Kremlin, Vladimir Putin has ” again discussed in detail the principled approaches to these problems “.
The two leaders, who already spoke on Friday, agreed to continue contacts by telephone, but also, according to the Kremlin, to study ” the possibility to meet in person. ” This exchange follows the conversations of the President of the Republic with his Russian and Ukrainian counterparts on Friday January 28 and is part of the same logic of de-escalation “, indicated for its part the French presidency after the call.
According to the Élysée, the two presidents welcome the positive progress in the Normandy format the existing format of talks that brings together Russia, Ukraine, Germany and France to settle the conflict in eastern Ukraine.
(and with AFP)