Ambassador Holland commends Ukraine's agreement to an immediate
and unconditional ceasefire and urges Russia to show that it is
serious about peace by agreeing to one without further delay.
"Thank you, Mister Chair. We all want to see an end to the
fighting and an enduring peace in Ukraine. We thank the
United States for their efforts to deliver this, including during
talks this week in Riyadh.
Under President Zelenskyy's leadership, Ukraine has shown that it
is the party of peace. They have proposed a full, immediate
and unconditional ceasefire. The only condition that
Ukraine attached to this was that Russia should agree to it
too. To date, Russia has not done so. We hope that
President Putin will agree to this without further delay.
The ball remains in Russia's court to demonstrate that the words
we have heard about Russia wanting peace are sincere.
It can do so by removing conditions designed to hamper and delay
US-led efforts to end the fighting. It can do so by ceasing
the attacks which continue to kill and injure innocent civilians
at a pace which has not changed despite the altered
context. And it can do so by showing that it is able to
honour, in good faith, past agreements it has signed, starting
with the Geneva Conventions, which include rules on the targeting
of healthcare and minimising civilian casualties. The
Russian State has shown little regard for these laws since it
launched its full-scale invasion, an attitude that continues to
this day.
We will not lose sight of the fact that this remains an illegal
and unprovoked war against an independent, sovereign nation. It
is a violation of the UN Charter and the Helsinki Final
Act. And the longer it takes President Putin to agree to
end the fighting, the more innocent lives will be lost.
Mister Chair, I would also like to say a few words about the
Special Monitoring Mission (SMM) in Ukraine. As you know,
the SMM was in place between 2014 and 2022. The men and
women of the SMM performed their functions with integrity and
professionalism. They did so despite a risk to their
safety, a risk underlined by the tragic deaths of two of its
members and the arbitrary arrest and continued detention by
Russia of three of its staff: Vadym Golda, Maxim Petrov and
Dmytro Shabanov.
The SMM's task – to provide independent and objective reporting
on the security situation in Ukraine - was made impossible by
Russia and its proxies restricting its movements and mandate.
Blaming the OSCE for these flaws is disinformation and
distraction. This organisation and its staff deserve
better. Thank you, Mister Chair."
