US Urges UN Security Council to Act on Ukraine Crisis as Russia Denies Invasion Claims
15:34 GMT 31.01.2022 (Updated: 17:19 GMT 31.01.2022)
© REUTERS / ANDREW KELLYU.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield attends a meeting of the U.N. Security Council on the situation between Russia and Ukraine, at the United Nations Headquarters in Manhattan, New York City, U.S., January 31, 2022. REUTERS/Andrew Kelly
© REUTERS / ANDREW KELLY
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Washington has repeatedly alleged that Moscow could be planning to invade Ukraine, ignoring the Kremlin's many assurances that this was not so. Russia accused the US and other western countries of artificially magnifying the fears of war and urged them to cease this dangerous rhetoric.
US ambassador to the UN, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, has called on the UN Security Council to take seriously the risks allegedly posed all around the world by Russia's aggressive and destabilising behaviour. The envoy further urged the council members to assess Russia's actions and not just statements.
The ambassador to the UN claimed that Russia plans, by the middle of February, to boost its military presence in allied Belarus' territory to 30,000. She expressed the hope that Moscow chooses diplomacy over conflict in Ukraine. The Kremlin has repeatedly rejected the US' allegations that it plans to attack Ukraine, and pointed out that NATO itself has been building up troops and offensive weapons in the countries bordering Russia over the past decades.
Open Talks on Ukraine
The US also invited Russia to take part in a public meeting on the situation concerning Ukraine with Washington insisting this was the way Moscow could discuss its security concerns. The envoy to the US insisted that by accepting the offer, the Kremlin would allegedly show its good faith in the matter.
"The United States has been clear. If this is truly about Russia's security concerns in Europe, we're offering them an opportunity to address these concerns at the negotiating table", Thomas-Greenfield said.
The Russian side rushed the voting on the proposal with Russia and China voting against it, 10 Security Council Members voting in favour and three more abstaining. China's envoy to the UN called on both sides to engage in "quiet diplomacy" instead of organising public meetings or engaging in "public confrontation".
29 January 2022, 15:47 GMT
Russia's ambassador to the UN Vassily Nebenzia called the initiative unacceptable interference into Russia's domestic affairs and an attempt to "mislead the international community" on what was really happening in the region. Nebenzia further slammed the proposal as a "classic example of megaphone diplomacy".
The Russian ambassador further pointed out that the US has so far failed to provide any evidence to back up claims of a planned Russian attack on Ukraine. Nebenzia said statements about an alleged possible war were a "fiction" and expressed concerns that the US actually wants them to come true.
"Talks about the coming war are provocative by themselves. [The US] seems to be calling for this, wanting and waiting for [war] to happen, as if you want to make your speculations come true", Nebenzia said.
Russia Faces 'Swift and Severe Consequences' If It Walks Out on Diplomacy
On the same day, US President Joe Biden commented on the proposal to set up a meeting on Ukraine claiming that Washington was allowing Russia to "engage in good faith" if it was "sincere" when it said it wanted to tackle its security concerns through diplomacy. The president said that otherwise, Russia faced the threat of severe consequences.
"If instead Russia chooses to walk away from diplomacy and attack Ukraine, Russia will bear the responsibility, and it will face swift and severe consequences", Biden said.
In a written statement published by the White House, Biden claimed that the US has "presented in detail" the alleged nature of Russia’s "threat to Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity" without going into detail. POTUS further noted that the US and its allies are continuing to prepare for every possible outcome regarding Ukraine.
"The world must be clear-eyed about the actions Russia is threatening and ready to respond to the risks those actions present to all of us," Biden said in the statement.
Russia has repeatedly denied the allegations that it is planning an attack on Ukraine - a claim western nations have been pushing for the past two months. Moscow warned that such scaremongering is dangerous. The Kremlin stressed that it does not seek war and hopes that neither do the NATO countries.