8 February 2023
Madam President,
We are meeting today upon the request of Russia. Russia is concerned about the absence of prospects for a peaceful settlement of the war of aggression that it itself decided to launch nearly a year ago against Ukraine. This situation would be almost laughable if the suffering of the Ukrainian people was not so great and if the abuses committed by the Russian armed forces were not continuing to mount. Allow us simply to recall one thing that is true: the peaceful settlement of this war depends on Russia, which is entirely responsible for it. It would simply need to at last end its aggression and withdraw the totality of its troops from the internationally recognized borders of the Ukrainian territory. This is what the International Court of Justice demanded on March 16.
This has been reiterated here several times: if Russia were to stop fighting, peace would immediately be restored. If Ukraine were to stop fighting, it would be annihilated. There are today Russian troops in Ukraine; there are no Ukrainian troops in Russia. So let us recall once again that there is an aggressor and an aggressed country in this war. Let us not allow Russia to reverse the responsibilities.
Madam President,
France is providing and will continue to provide the Ukrainian people with all the support they need to exercise their legitimate right to self-defense and preserve their sovereignty, territorial integrity and independence, in accordance with international law and the United Nations Charter.
This includes military support, bilaterally and through the European Union. It aims to rebalance the forces in order to create the conditions for a just and lasting settlement of the conflict. We all know that negotiations will only succeed if Ukraine’s sovereignty is respected and its territory liberated. Helping a sovereign State under attack to resist the invasion of another State is a quest for peace and a defense of the principles of international law.
Madam President,
As its weapons stocks dwindle, Russia seeks to resupply by any means, including by violating Security Council resolutions. It is well documented that Russia has used Iranian-supplied combat drones in its war of aggression. We call upon the United Nations to investigate these transfers, which violate Resolution 2231, and to report on this to this Council. It is also documented that North Korea has repeatedly delivered missiles and ammunition to Russia in clear violation of Security Council resolutions. These weapons were intended for use by the troops of the private military company Wagner, which Russia does not hesitate to mobilize by the tens of thousands, including many criminals, to compensate for its many losses on the ground.
Russia continues to use all of these weapons in its strategy of systematically targeting the Ukrainian civilian population and infrastructure, in flagrant violation of the principles of international humanitarian law. The United Nations and all its members cannot and must not turn a blind eye to this.
Madam President,
Ukraine is fighting to defend the principles of the UN Charter: territorial integrity, inviolability of borders, independence and sovereignty of States, rejection of the conquest of territories by force, condemnation of wars of aggression. And the defense of these principles is the everybody’s business, it is the business of all the United Nations members.
With the 10-point peace plan proposed by President Zelensky, Ukraine has demonstrated its will to make peace and has outlined a path towards a just and lasting peace.
As we have been doing since February 24, we will continue to support Ukraine in achieving this.
Thank you.