United States Mission to the United Nations
May 5, 2021
Joint Statement Following Russia’s Arria-Formula Meeting on Odessa Events
The following is a joint statement by Belgium, Estonia, France, Germany, Ireland, Norway, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
Russia held an informal Arria-formula meeting at the UN today to again promote a false narrative about Ukraine. We regret this deliberate attempt to divert the attention of the international community from Russia’s ongoing destabilizing activities against Ukraine over the last seven years. We remain saddened by the tragic loss of lives in Odessa on the 2nd of May 2014. We urge Russia to stop politicizing human tragedies.
We urge Russia to immediately cease all of its aggressive and destabilizing activities and to de-escalate by fully reversing its troop buildup in temporarily occupied Crimea and along Ukraine’s borders without delay and to end its temporary occupation of the territory of Ukraine without delay. We further call on Russia to recommit to a ceasefire in the Donbas and provide transparency on its military activities, in line with its commitments under the OSCE Vienna Document.
We strongly condemn Russia’s attempted annexation of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol. Russia’s actions are of global concern and in violation of international law, including the UN Charter, and contrary to the Helsinki Final Act.
As we saw during the March 12 High-Level Arria-formula meeting on Crimea hosted by Estonia with 23 co-sponsors, and from the UN General Assembly resolution A/RES/68/262, Ukraine has the full support of the international community in defending its sovereignty and territorial integrity, within its internationally recognized borders and territorial waters.
We reiterate our support for the efforts of the Normandy format and our firm commitment to a peaceful resolution of the conflict, in line with the Minsk Agreements, the conclusions of the December 2019 Normandy format Summit in Paris and with full respect of Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity. We call for constructive engagement in the Trilateral Contact Group and for the full implementation of the Minsk agreements and the conclusions of the Paris Summit. We underline Russia’s responsibility and commitments in this regard.
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