** 22-Feb-2022 World View: UN Security Council meeting on Ukraine
- UN Security Council meeting (AFP)
Last night, I watched a lot of the UN Security Council meeting, and it
was surprising that Russia apparently received no support at all. Of
course the European members, including US, UK, Norway, all condemned
Russia.
But it was more surprising that Russia was also condemned by African
nations -- Kenya, Ghana, Gabon. The statement by the ambassador from
Kenya was interesting:
> AP: "Kenyan U.N. Ambassador Martin Kimani said the
> Ukraine crisis echoes the independence of every country in Africa
> which inherited borders drawn by colonial powers that didn’t
> adhere to historical, cultural and linguistic bonds. But instead
> of waging wars, he said, African nations accepted the borders and
> “chose to look forward” and follow the U.N. Charter and the rules
> of the former Organization of African Unity.
> Kimani accused Russia of violating Ukraine’s territorial integrity
> and said its recognition of Luhansk and Donetsk as independent
> states can’t be justified “when there are multiple diplomatic
> tracks available and underway that have the ability to offer
> peaceful solutions.”"
The statement condemns Russia's "recognition of Luhansk and Donetsk as
independent states." These are the two Ukrainian provinces referred
collectively as the Donbas. Russia invaded and took control of about
one-third of the Donbas, and now Russia is consolidating its control
on Monday by declaring them to be independent states.
Russia is sending new troops and tanks into the Donbas as
"peacekeeping forces." The question now is whether those troops will
go on to invade the other two-thirds of the Donbas, and indeed whether
they'll go on to Kiev. Few people doubt that's coming.
There had been questions and speculation about what China's ambassador
would say -- whether China would have a full-throated defense of
Russia. However, when it wss his turn to speak, he only spoke for a
minute, and said that issue should be resolved by diplomacy. It was a
nuanced statement, unclear whether he was supporting Russia.
Over the weekend, a Chinese statement said that Ukraine's sovereignty
must be protected, so China is apparently opposing Russia's invasion.
This is inconsistent with all the claims that China and Russia are
united in opposing the West.
Russia's ambassador lambasted the other speakers for making
"emotional" statements. He said that Russia's invasion is for the
good of Ukraine and its people. He claimed without evidence that the
Ukrainian army was shelling civilians in Donbas, and causing a
bloodbath in Donbas.
Ukraine's ambassador spoke slowly, and appeared to be angry and sad,
since he knows what's coming. He said something interesting. He held
up a document, and said that the words Russia is using in declaring
the independence of Luhansk and Donetsk were exactly the same words,
via "copy and paste, copy and paste" that Russia used in 2008 to
declare the independence of South Ossetia in Georgia.
In 2008, According to one analyst, Russian troops kept provoking the
Georgian troops. The Georgian troops were warned not to return fire,
since Russia would use that as a further justification for an
invasion. The Russian provocation got worse and worse, until finally
the Georgians had to return fire, and that's what the Russians wanted.
The Russians seem to be following the same tactics in Ukraine today.
-- Putin gets no support from UN Security Council over Ukraine
https://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/put ... e-83037165
(AP, 22-Feb-2022)
-- ‘War, destruction and death’: U.N. Security Council members slam
Russia’s Ukraine escalation
https://www.politico.com/news/2022/02/2 ... n-00010485
(Politico, 22-Feb-2022)
