Mr. President,

Distinguished colleagues,

Ladies and gentlemen,

My delegation has requested the floor because of the extraordinary situation in my country.

Ukraine has become an object of the overt military invasion of the Russian Federation in a breach of the UN Charter and the applicable international law. This represents a serious threat to the sovereignty and territorial integrity of my country, jeopardizing peace and stability in Europe.

On March 1, 2014 the Council of the Federation of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation unanimously supported the appeal of the President of the Russian Federation on sending a “limited contingent of military troops” of the armed forces of the Russian Federation into the territory of Ukraine.

However, I must stress that Russian troops have started illegal penetration into the territory of Ukraine in Crimea even earlier – on the 21st of February.

Regrettably to mention that this case is the most flagrant one among other breaches of Russia’s international commitments such as the provocative territorial dispute over the ownership of the Tuzla Island in October 2003 and standing economic coercion designed to subordinate to its own interest the exercise by Ukraine of the rights inherent in its sovereignty.

The latest decision of the Russian Federation was taken in violation of the UN Charter, the Declaration of Principles of International Law of 1970, the Helsinki Final Act of the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe of 1975, the Agreement on Friendship and Cooperation between Ukraine and the Russian Federation of 1997 and a number of other international treaties.

A corresponding briefing note concerning the guaranties of the sovereignty, territorial integrity and inviolability of the territory and frontiers of Ukraine, as well as a fact-sheet of Russia’s outrageous breaches of the existing bilateral agreements between Ukraine and the Russian Federation were duly circulated yesterday among permanent missions and international organizations based in Geneva.

Mr. President,

Just 20 years ago Ukraine made an unprecedented step and voluntarily renounced its nuclear arsenal, the third largest one in the world, by joining the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) as a non-nuclear-weapon state.

In connection of its accession to this Treaty Ukraine was provided for with the explicit guarantees of independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity within the existing borders in accordance with the principles of the Helsinki Final Act.

These guarantees were secured through the Memorandum on security assurances of 1994 (known as Budapest memorandum) signed by Ukraine and the Guarantor States - the Russian Federation, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, the United States of America, followed by the declarations of the French Republic and the People's Republic of China.

In accordance with the Memorandum’s procedures, stipulated for the situation that raises a question concerning the fulfillment of the Guarantor States’ obligations, Ukraine has initiated international consultations in Kyiv, involving the Ministers for Foreign Affairs of the respective states.

The groundless refusal of the Russian Federation to participate in these consultations reveals a blatant disregard of its obligations under the international law as secured in the Budapest Memorandum.

We strongly believe that the act of military invasion of the Russian Federation against a non-nuclear state, incidentally on the Budapest Memorandum’s 20th anniversary, jeopardizes the credibility of security assurances and discourages states of giving up their nuclear arsenals and joining the NPT in non-nuclear status.

Moreover, the actions of the Russian Federation seriously undermine reinvigorated efforts of international community aimed at strengthening of the non-proliferation regime and engender its dramatic erosion.

Mr. President,

I would like to reiterate our call upon the Russian Federation to exhibit restraint and to respect territorial integrity, political independence and sovereignty of Ukraine.

We demand an immediate withdrawal of all troops, combat and military equipment from the sovereign territory of Ukraine, including that of the Black Sea Fleet of the Russian Federation, to the places of their location and strict adherence of the Russian Federation to the Treaty on Friendship, Cooperation and Partnership Between Ukraine and the Russian Federation of 1997, the Agreement on Status and Terms of Stationing of the Black Sea Fleet of the Russian Federation on the Territory of Ukraine of 1997, as well as other applicable international norms.

At the same time, Ukraine continues to undertake all necessary and legitimate measures to ensure public order on its sovereign territory.

Mr. President,

We urge all CD Member States, particularly the UN Security Council members, to support Ukraine in this very challenging time and to do whatever possible to guarantee the inviolability of the borders of Ukraine and thus to secure peace and stability on our continent.

Let’s not lose this chance. We still have it.

I thank you.

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