Statement by Ambassador Nicolas de Rivière, Permanent Representative of France to the United Nations and President of the Security Council for the month of January, at the UN Security Council meeting on Ukraine

Must read

France will continue to support the Ukrainian people unwaveringly

January 10, 2024

I would like to thank Ms DiCarlo and Ms Wosornu for their briefings.

Ukranians entered the year 2024 under a continuous rain of more than 500 Russian missiles and drones. Residential buildings, shops, churches, maternity wards, railway stations, metro stations, energy infrastructures: these are the targets of the Russian army in Ukraine. France condemns these massive strikes.

By deliberately targeting civilian infrastructures, Russia can no longer lead us to believe that it is seeking military objectives. It is violating international humanitarian law by attacking civilians. It refuses humanitarian actors access to areas under its control.

It’s trying to break the morale of a nation whose identity it denies. It ’s trying to subjugate by force a country whose sovereignty and territorial integrity it has been violating for 10 years. And it’s doing so by purchasing arms from Iran and North Korea, in violation of the resolutions of this Council.

Russia continues its headlong rush forward, with no justification other than that of reviving a fantasized imperial past. As the war enters its third year, let’s recall the obvious: if Russia ceases its aggression, the war will cease, without prejudice to its own security. If Ukraine stops defending itself, it will lose its freedom.

What is happening in Ukraine concerns us all. How we respond to Russian aggression against Ukraine will determine our collective security. Russia must heed the calls of the General Assembly, which by an overwhelming majority has affirmed and reaffirmed its commitment to Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.

France will continue to support the Ukrainian people unwaveringly in all areas, to enable them to exercise their right to self-defense, in accordance with the Charter. It will also continue to support Ukrainian jurisdictions and the International Criminal Court in the fight against impunity for crimes committed by Russia. We will maintain our economic and humanitarian support for Ukraine and the Ukrainian people. We will continue to be mobilized to mitigate the consequences of Russian aggression on populations around the world, particularly in terms of food security. Last but not least, France supports the Ukrainian vision of a just and lasting peace that respects the fundamental principles of the Charter.

Thank you very much.

More articles

Latest article