UN Secretary-General supports call for Russia to cease occupation of Crimea. Video

Spokesman for UN Stephane Dujarric made the relevant statement at a briefing at the UN Headquarters on Monday, an Ukrinform correspondent reports.

“The Secretary-General’s position on Ukraine has been unchanged. It is guided by the relevant [UN] General Assembly resolutions on the territorial integrity of Ukraine,” he stressed, when asked to comment on the position of the UN Secretary-General in the context of the fifth anniversary of the occupation of Crimea by Russia.

As Dujarric noted, António Guterres “has always been a strong supporter of the efforts of various groups, the Normandy format, the Trilateral Contact Group and the OSCE trying to resolve the issue.”

As reported, on December 17, 2018, the UN General Assembly adopted the resolution “Problem of the Militarization of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the City of Sevastopol, Ukraine, as well as Parts of the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov.”

The resolution points to security threats that Russia poses to Ukraine, the Black Sea region and the whole of Europe by the transfer of troops and weapons to Crimea, in particular, aircraft and missiles capable of carrying nuclear warheads. For the first time, there is a direct call for Russia to immediately withdraw its troops from Crimea and end its temporary occupation of Ukraine's territory without delay.

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