MOSCOW, June 19 (RIA Novosti) – The West is hindering the UN Security Council’s work on a draft resolution on Ukraine and Russia has called on the Council to show its commitment to the peaceful resolution of the country’s crisis, Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman Alexander Lukashevich said Thursday.
“Frankly speaking, we are perplexed that many western members of the Security Council are continuing to look for various pretexts to maximally hinder the work on the Russian project, which opens true possibilities in starting the process of settling the situation in Ukraine using political methods through broad national dialogue and holding constitutional reforms that have been needed long ago,” Lukashevich said.
“We call on UN Security Council members to support the Russian draft and therefore prove their commitment to the peaceful resolution of the crisis in Ukraine,” Lukashevich said.
Russia earlier this week submitted a revised draft resolution to the UN Security Council that includes references confirming the commitment of the UN Security Council to the sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity of Ukraine.
The draft resolution also takes into consideration comments by UN Security Council member states, and includes changes to the activity of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE).
The document includes parts of two earlier resolutions that Russia circulated calling for humanitarian aid, a ceasefire and a national dialogue in crisis-hit Ukraine.
Amid the rising independence movement in Ukraine’s eastern regions, authorities in Kiev launched a large-scale military operation in mid-April. The operation, which has triggered violent clashes between independence supporters and government soldiers and led to numerous casualties, has repeatedly been condemned by Moscow.
