Melnyk: UN Security Council should put unconditional ceasefire resolution to vote

The diplomat made this statement in an interview with Ukrinform.

According to Melnyk, initiating UN Security Council meetings on Russian aggression against Ukraine remains an effective tool, even given the impossibility of adopting decisions due to Russia's abuse of its veto power.

According to him, the very fact of public debates in the Security Council keeps the international community's attention on the war. All this information is officially documented, including as evidence of Russia's war crimes.

Ukraine manages to keep the issue of Russian aggression on the Security Council's agenda, but this is not enough. The diplomat recalled that the only resolution on the Russian war, “The Path to Peace,” proposed by the United States, was adopted in February this year, although “Ukraine was not enthusiastic about this step.” According to Melnyk, the responsibility for implementing this resolution lies primarily with the states that supported it. “It is high time to hold a separate Security Council meeting to consider the reasons why this document has remained a dead letter,” he said.

Melnyk also noted that, despite the negotiation process initiated by the US, the resolution remains relevant and could serve as the basis for a new document declaring a ceasefire without any preconditions.

“Even if Russia, as expected, blocks the draft resolution on an immediate and unconditional ceasefire, it would be worth submitting it to the UN Security Council for consideration. Then everyone would see once again who really wants the war to continue,” the permanent representative is convinced.

Melnyk noted that the Security Council is the “highest league of international diplomacy,” where the fate of Ukraine depends on the vote of each member state, regardless of its size.

He drew attention to the change in the composition of the Security Council from the beginning of next year. According to him, the arrival of Liberia, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Bahrain, Colombia, and Latvia instead of Algeria, Sierra Leone, South Korea, Guyana, and Slovenia will be a “serious challenge” for Ukraine. Experience of interaction with most of the new members is limited and difficult, and Ukraine only has a full-fledged embassy in the DR Congo.

According to the diplomat, Ukraine needs to start preparing specific plans for working with future Security Council members now, involving key allies to form a broad coalition in support of the UN Charter. Melnyk stressed that, despite declarations of commitment to international law, in practice the UN often shows passivity in actually defending these principles.

The Permanent Representative also announced that Ukraine plans to convene an extraordinary session of the UN General Assembly on February 24, on the fourth anniversary of the full-scale Russian invasion. At the same time, debates are being prepared in the Security Council, and the possibility of introducing a new resolution is being considered.

As reported by Ukrinform, over the course of two weeks, the UN General Assembly supported three Ukrainian resolutions: on the return of children deported from Russia, overcoming the consequences of the Chernobyl disaster, and human rights violations in the temporarily occupied territories.

Photo provided by Andrii Melnyk