Ukraine’s President Viktor Yanukovych in his speech at the plenary meeting of the 67th session of the UN’s General Assembly spoke about the priorities of the Ukrainian state in the international arena and suggested a number of initiatives. In particular, he reminded the audience that early prevention of conflicts was one of the main elements of the first membership of Ukraine as an independent state at the UN Security Council in 2000 and 2001. “This issue is considered as one of the priorities of the Ukrainian presidency in the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe in 2013. Generally during our chairmanship in OSCE we are determined to make all efforts to strengthen regional security and democratic institutions of the participating states. We will also foster efficiency of the OSCE as a regional organization under section eight of the UN Charter,” stressed Yanukovych.
He also added that Ukraine will emphasize the need for new push in resolving long-lasting conflicts on the European continent and reacting to new security challenges and threats, including those in the sphere of energy.
Referring to such tragic event as the attack on the US consulate in Libya, which occurred on September 11 this year, the president noted that Ukraine strongly condemns any acts of violence against diplomatic missions and their staff. According to him, Ukraine has for many years remained an active supporter of strengthening preventive diplomacy in international relations with the UN having the main role.
“Following this approach, within the framework of the UN Human Rights Council Ukraine launched a dialogue on preventing human rights violations, including initiating appropriate thematic resolution,” said Yanukovych.
Another initiative of the Ukrainian president deals with the Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe. As we know, the West has long been waiting to hear the opinion of Ukraine on this issue. Therefore, we should expect a positive reaction to the statement Yanukovych made from the UN podium, when he said: “Ukraine, as a non-aligned state, is most certainly disturbed by the erosion of the regime defined by the Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe. We believe that this international legal instrument is the cornerstone of stability on the continent, therefore all the participating states should make every effort to restore its full and effective functioning.”
Yanukovych stressed that these are the reasons why Ukraine, during its chairmanship of the OSCE, intends to pay particular attention to overcoming the crisis which originated around the Treaty. He also said that peaceful resolution and prevention of conflicts will be the starting point of Ukraine’s activity in case it is elected to non-permanent members of the UN Security Council for 2016 and 2017.
It is also important that the West would hear the statement made by Yanukovych that “security guarantees for states that have abandoned their nuclear arsenals and made further strategic concessions, should be reflected in a legally binding international documents.”
