The UN Secretary General's Statement On Ukraine Is Considered Inappropriate, Russian Foreign Minister: We Are Very Sorry

JAKARTA - UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres made several statements about the situation in eastern Ukraine that do not match its status, said Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, opening talks with UN Special Envoy for Syria Geir Pedersen.

"We deeply regret that the UN Secretary-General you represent is vulnerable to Western pressure and has recently made several statements that are inconsistent with his status and authority under the UN Charter," he said, quoted from TASS February 24.

Russia's top diplomat noted that Moscow conveyed to Secretary General Guterres its assessment of his statement. According to Foreign Minister Lavrov, the UN Secretary General has never expressed his support for the need to implement the Minsk Accords and UN Security Council resolutions on the same matter.

"With regard to the situation in Ukraine, the (UN) Secretary-General has not once voiced his support for the need to fulfill the requirements of the Minsk Security Council (UN) Security Council's (UN) Package of Actions and Resolution 2202, which directly demands to resolve all issues with coordination between Kiev, Donetsk and Lugansk. Nobody mentions this in the West. And, unfortunately, the secretary-general follows this pathetic example," Foreign Minister Lavrov criticized.

Earlier, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres made a number of statements regarding the situation in eastern Ukraine, criticizing Russia's recognition of the DPR and LPR and asserting that he would not consider Russian soldiers in Donbass as peacekeepers.

As previously reported, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres called Russia's recognition of the independence of the Donetsk and Lugansk regions a violation of the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Ukraine, calling on all parties to focus on efforts to stop hostilities and protect civilians, the spokesman said.

In a statement issued by Spokesman Stéphane Dujarric, the UN Secretary-General called for a peaceful resolution of the conflict in eastern Ukraine, in accordance with the Minsk Agreement, as endorsed by the Security Council in resolution 2202 of 2015.

"Russia's decision is a violation of the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Ukraine, not in accordance with the principles of the United Nations Charter," Dujarric said of the UN Secretary General's assessment, citing UN News.

Dujarric emphasized that, in line with relevant General Assembly resolutions, the United Nations remains fully supportive of Ukraine's sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity, within internationally recognized boundaries.