Attending The UN Security Council Meeting, President Zelensky: All Efforts To Stop The Diveto War

JAKARTA - President Volodymyr Zelensky said Ukraine is exercising its right to defend itself, garnering support and highlighting veto against efforts to end the war, as it first attended a meeting of the UN Security Council on Wednesday.

"Ukraine is exercising its right to defend itself," President Zelensky told the 15-member council.

"Assisting Ukraine with weapons in this test, by imposing sanctions and putting comprehensive pressure on aggressors, as well as voting for relevant resolutions, means helping defend the UN Charter," President Zelensky said.

Ukraine and Western countries have succeeded in diplomatically isolating Russia at the United Nations, where the 193-member General Assembly has voted several times to condemn the invasion and demanded Moscow withdraw its troops.

Their argument: Russia violated the 1945 UN Charter.

574 days of pain, losses, and struggle have already passed since the start of the full-scale aggression launched by the state, which, for some reason, is still present here among the permanent UNSC members. pic.twitter.com/K5ucPhmlWS

— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) September 20, 2023

574 days of pain, loss, and struggle have already passed since the full-scale advance launched by the state, which, for some reason, is still present here, the permanent UNSC members. pic.twitter.com/K5ucPhmlWS

Furthermore, President Zelensky noted the UN Security Council's deadlock on Ukraine, which has met dozens of times about Ukraine since the Russian invasion in February 2022, but has been unable to take any action as Russia has veto rights.

"It is impossible to stop the war because all efforts are vetoed by aggressors," said President Zelensky.

Interestingly, although President Zelensky and Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, who led the Russian delegation, were placed in a shirt, the two never met at the meeting.

President Zelensky sat only for the first hour of the meeting. He left before the arrival of Russia's top diplomat, who only entered the room to make a statement at length and then left.

Foreign Minister Lavrov accused Western countries of being selective in using the UN Charter, and using it based on cases per case exclusively based on their parochial geopolitical needs.

"This has resulted in the shock of global stability and exacerbating and fueling new tensions, the risk of global conflict is increasing," said Foreign Minister Lavrov.

Meanwhile, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres at the meeting said Russia's war in Ukraine "is exacerbating tensions and geopolitical divisions, threatening regional stability, increasing nuclear threats, and creating deepening divisions in our increasingly multipolar world."

Meanwhile, Russia said it was carrying out "special military operations" in Ukraine because the country's ambition to integrate with the West, including NATO, poses a threat to Russia's national security.