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13 March Security Council open meeting Agenda item: Letter dated 28 February 2014 from the Permanent Representative of Ukraine to the United Nations addressed to the President of the Security Council (S/2014/136).  Mr. President,  As noted by USG Feltman at the beginning of his tstatement, it is the sixth time since March 1 that we are meeting to address the issue of Russian aggression against Ukraine. In the meantime, the Heads of States of European Union condemned the unprovoked violation of Ukrainian sovereignty and territorial integrity by the Russian Federation, calling on the latter to immediately withdraw its armed forces to the areas of their permanent stationing. This call was reinforced by a similar statement by the leaders of the G7. The OSCE Chair-in-office too stressed the illegality of referendum in Crimea and called on all actors to refrain from supporting unconstitutional activities.

As a leader and patriot, former president Janukovic should have put Ukraine first and done all within his power to normalize the situation. He should have led the implementation of the oft-cited February21 agreement which he signed so unwillingly- and which Russia refused to co-sign, as so eloquently noted by the French ambassador.

Instead, Janukovic abandoned his country and fled, exposing it to partition and annexation. Under the circumstances, the UkrainianRada whose legitimacy and credentials have never been challenged and cannot be challenged, appointed a new Prime Minister, in accordance with the Ukrainian Constitution and by an overwhelming majority of votes, enabling the formation of a unity government which is fully representative of the ethnic and geographical diversity of Ukrainian population.

We commend the incredible restraint and moral fortitude of the Ukrainian government, its people and its military in the face of continuous escalation of provocations and a massive propaganda onslaught. Mr. Prime Minister, it speaks volumes of your readiness and commitment to pursue a peaceful resolution of the crisis.

Never has a referendum been set up so hurriedly (and even that very short period of time was further shortened), in a clear violation of Ukraine's constitution and the Constitution of Crimea which unambiguously states that “Crimea shall be an integral part of Ukraine”. The original inhabitants of Ukraine, Crimean Tatars, have spoken loudly against the referendum and Crimea’s secession and have reaffirmed their desire to see their homeland as part of Ukraine, but their voice will not count. Nor will the voices of many other ethnic groups inhabiting Crimea, including Ukrainians.

As our US colleague has noted, this referendum is specifically designed to endorse secession, and only secession. In the meantime, Russia is fast-tracking legislation which will enable the annexation of Crimea - or any other piece of another country for that matter. One can only imagine the shudders this is sending across the entire region whose memories of the Soviet occupations and invasions are still very much alive.

As a signatory of 1991 the Alma Ata Declaration, the 1994 Budapest Memorandum, the 1997 Agreement between Russia and Ukraine on the Status and Conditions of the Presence of the Russian Black Sea Fleet on the Territory of Ukraine, as well as the 1997 Treaty on friendship, good-neighbourliness and cooperation between Ukraine and the Russian Federation, the Russian Federation repeatedly recognized Ukraine’s territorial integrity and sovereignty.

Furthermore, as a signatory of the Budapest memorandum, it undertook the obligation to protect and guarantee Ukraine’s sovereignty, inviolability and territorial integrity in exchange for Ukraine relinquishing its nuclear weapons. This blatant breach of bilateral obligations and international law by Russia is undermining the very foundations of international law, as well as regional and international peace and security. We therefore strongly call on all states to make it clear that they will not recognize the “referendum” and its outcome .

Nothing, nothing on earth warrants or justifies Russia’s actions and those of the pro-Russian forces in Crimea. Whatever the legitimate concerns about the conditions of ethnic or linguistic minorities, they could have and still can be readily addressed by way of existing regional and international instruments. The Council of Europe has plenty of mechanisms to this effect and is ready to engage. So do the OSCE and the United Nations. Let these organisations do their job just like they have done their job on multiple other occasions in other crisis situations, with considerable success. The more so that Ukraine has repeatedly invited monitors and representatives of these organisations and declared its openness to be visited, assessed, inspected and monitored. Ukraine has nothing to hide.

But their opponents do. Why else would they be doing everything to isolate Crimea before the illegal referendum? The pro-Russian forces, propped up by the ever growing Russian military presence on the peninsula, have denied access to several OSCE teams; ASG Simonovic was turned down, and UNSG’s Special envoy Robert Serry was harassed and denied entry twice. Crimean Ukrainians are attacked and accused of being occupiers in their own country, and taunted en masse as fascists and Nazis for no other reason but being Ukrainian.

The Crimean airspace is closed to all but flights to and from Moscow; waterways are blocked by sunken ships; electricity and supplies to Ukrainian forces cut off; trenches dug and as reported by the International Campaign to Ban Landmines landmines are being laid. Land access is monitored by so called-unidentified Russian speaking men armed to the teeth.

Crimea’s information space has also been blocked- all Ukrainian information channels as well as the local Tartar network were closed and replaced by Russian channels transmitting continuous anti-Ukrainian propaganda. Journalists have been threatened, assaulted, physically attacked, and kidnapped. It is in this context of Crimea’s isolation, gunpoint tactics by pro-Russian forces and the extreme levels of anti-Ukrainian hysteria that the illegal referendum is to take place this coming weekend, paving the way to Crimea’s annexation by Russia.

This crisis is deeply troubling. Besides violating the underlying principles of international law and a country’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, it also has a highly explosive human dimension. The anti-Ukrainian propaganda and a barrage of lies risk unleashing the most dangerous demons of hatred, with potentially devastating consequences for the region and international security as a whole.

We call on the Russian Federation to stop the warmongering and its dangerous propaganda campaign aimed at its neighbours and to use whatever little time remains for open dialogue and international mediation/participation. While still possible, we appeal to the Russian Federation to withdraw its troops to its regular locations, accept the primacy of international law and reaffirm its respect for the UN Charter; engage in direct dialogue with Kiev without any further delay; revert to existing mechanisms of crisis resolution and accept UN, OSCE and Council of Europe initiatives aimed at preventing further escalation and launching international monitoring mechanisms.

The solution to the crisis in Ukraine can only be based on the territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence of Ukraine, as well as the strict adherence to international law and standards. If this chance is missed, the consequences for the international order will be difficult to assess, and the full responsibility of the consequences will be for Russia to bear.

The window of pportunity is still here, as noted by our UK colleague. It is up to Russia to keep it open, or to shut it in the face of international community.