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The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Lithuania Linas Linkevičius, who is visiting New York, attended the UN Security Council open debate on conflicts in Europe on 21 February.

The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Pavlo Klimkin opened the meeting and discussed the roots of conflict in Europe, emerging threats to international peace and security, and how the UN Security Council could respond to them together with the Secretary-General of the United Nations António Guterres, the OSCE Secretary General Lamberto Zannier and other high-level representatives.

In his speech, Linkevičius acknowledged the persistence of ideological confrontation in Europe after the end of the Cold War. According to him, the frozen conflicts caused by Russia in Transnistria, Nagorno-Karabakh, the military intervention in Georgia and the ongoing military aggression against Ukraine are in line with the targets of Russia’s foreign policy strategy, which poses a threat not only to Europe, but also to global security.

“All international and regional organizations have to engage in collective action to address conflict in Europe, also making use of tools for applying diplomatic pressure on the aggressor, including sanctions,” said Linkevičius.

Ukraine, which holds the presidency of the United Nations Security Council in February, organised the open debate on conflicts in Europe with an aim to raise the issue of the war in Ukraine once again. The Russian military intervention and actions by pro-Russian separatist militants in eastern Ukraine, as well as the occupation of Crimea continue. Furthermore, provisions of the Minsk agreements are not being implemented. Russia’s aggression against Ukraine that has continued for nearly four years claimed more than 10 thousand lives.

Photo: United Nations