NEW YORK, Feb 18 (KUNA) -- Any peace agreement reached on the situation in the Ukraine must be respected by all parties to end the three-years war, said a UN official late Monday.
Miroslav Jenca, Assistant Secretary General for Europe in the political and peacebuilding department (DPPA), told a session of the UNSC discuss international peace and security that "The United Nations encourages dialogue among all stakeholders and welcomes all genuine efforts and initiatives, with the full participation of Ukraine and the Russian Federation, that would alleviate the impact of the war on civilians and de-escalate the conflict." He reiterated the stance of the Secretary General Antonio Guterres, saying, "Any peaceful settlement must respect the sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity of Ukraine, in line with the UN Charter, international law and resolutions of the General Assembly." The anniversary of the Russian military operation on the Ukraine must remind all of the intensive diplomatic efforts to reach a peaceful resolution, which unfortunately did not materialized.
He commended the representatives of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe's (OSCE) Special Monitoring Mission for "its eight years of work in tracking ceasefire violations and facilitating dialogue, noting that the experience offers key lessons for future diplomatic efforts." On the now-defunct Minsk agreements of 2015, Jenca stated, "he Minsk agreements have taught us that agreeing on a ceasefire or the signing of an agreement alone do not ensure a durable end to the violence." The UNSC session coincided with the with the tenth anniversary of resolution 2202, which endorsed the now-defunct Minsk agreements of 2015 signed by the representatives of European security pact, the OSCE, Russia, Ukraine and leaders of the pro-Russian separatists in the occupied east of Ukraine following Russia's annexation of Crimea. (end) ats.gta