News

On 2 May at the urgent Security Council meeting on the recent developments in Eastern Ukraine Raimonda Murmokaitė, Permanent Representative of Lithuania to the United Nations reiterated Lithuania’s condemnation of all attempts to destroy Ukraine’s independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity.  “Lithuania firmly rejects all Russian attempts to validate its intentions to use armed forces in or to send Russian Federation’s “peacekeeping” forces to Ukraine.”

“What would your country do if a group of people in one of your towns decided to break away and declare themselves above your country’s laws and Constitution, arm themselves illegally and attack local government, administrative, justice buildings, take hostages and practice enforced disappearances, beatings, and killings? Would you sit and wait for your country to be decimated and brought to the knees or would you act to protect your country’s sovereignty and territorial integrity?”, asked Lithuanian Ambassador.

Ambassador R. Murmokaitė stressed that peaceful protesters do not use grenade launchers that can shoot down helicopters, do not make their morning walks armed with heavy guns and automatic weapons and do not kidnap and shamelessly parade international observers.

In response to the Russia’s claims on the responsibility of the current government of Ukraine for ongoing violence, Ambassador Murmokaitė stressed that  “this would not be happening had Russia, the only power with a real influence on the separatists denounced such acts of aggression and called on the separatists to accept a peaceful path of talks with the central government.  Instead, Russia chose to continue put down the blame on Ukraine, the only side which is actually taking steps- at gunpoint- to implement the Geneva Statement.”

Ambassador R. Murmokaitė reminded that many acts by the Assad regime has so far not been condemned by Russia, including the recent attack when a barrel bomb dropped by government aircraft on an elementary school in the city of Alleppo and killed at least 20 people, including 17 children.

Ambassador also expressed Lithuania’s support for the UN Secretary-General mediation efforts and the visit of UN Under-Secretary-General J. Feltman to Kiyv and Moscow next week.