Mr. President,

It has been eight years since the occupation of Crimea.

Since the first day, the international community has maintained a resolute position:

- We never recognized the illegal annexation.

- And we have always supported Ukraine’s independence, territorial integrity, sovereignty and its political unity within its internationally recognized borders.

This is our legal and moral obligation.

Mr. President,

Today, we face a new act of aggression, this time against another part of Ukrainian territory. This is totally unacceptable.

We reject Russia’s decision to recognize the so-called Donetsk and Luhansk Republics and send in additional troops.
It is illegal and illegitimate.
It is in contravention of the Minsk Agreements and constitutes a flagrant violation of Ukraine’s political unity, sovereignty and territorial integrity.

Mr. President,

We do not need, nor do we want a new war in our region.

We call upon Russia to reverse its decision and return to diplomacy and dialogue on the basis of the Minsk Agreements.

This is the only way that will take us away from the precipice.

Therefore, we call for restraint and common sense.

We urge the parties to get together around the negotiation table without delay.

As a neighbor to both parties, we are ready to facilitate this process and host technical and/or high level meetings.

We also welcome President Zelenskiy’s proposal for a meeting between P5, Türkiye, Germany and Ukraine.

Finally, we continue to support the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission led by Ambassador Halit Çevik.


Mr. President,

I am obliged to repeat: Today, Ukraine, a founding member of the United Nations, is faced with yet another act of aggression.


And the global community is faced with yet another threat to regional and international peace and security.


But above all, this is an aggression against the fundamental principles of international law and the UN Charter.

Make no mistake: We all need the rules-based international order.

It is our duty as member states to defend legality.

It is our obligation to ensure that conflicts are resolved through peaceful means.

We must make sure that the founding principles of the UN are upheld. This is the only way to save ourselves from the scourge of war.

Thank you.