The United Nations (UN) Security Council will meet today, Monday, January 31, 2022, for the first time on Russia’s troop buildup and threatening actions against Ukraine at the request of the United States.
The meeting calls for all key players expected to square off in public over the possibility of a Russian invasion and the possible global impact.
United States Ambassador, Linda Thomas-Greenfield said Russia’s actions pose “a clear threat to international peace and security and the U.N. Charter.” Adding that, the council members “must squarely examine the facts and consider what is at stake for Ukraine, for Russia, for Europe, and for the core obligations and principles of the international order should Russia further invade Ukraine,” she earlier mentioned on Thursday, January 27, 2022, while announcing the meeting.
Russia’s Deputy U.N. Ambassador, Dmitry Polyansky responded angrily, tweeting: “I can’t recall another occasion when a SC (Security Council) member proposed to discuss its own baseless allegations and assumptions as a threat to intl (international) order from someone else. Hopefully, fellow UNSC members will not support this clear PR stunt shameful for the reputation of UN Security Council.”
Polyansky’s reaction indicated that Russia has the potential of starting the meeting and asking for a procedural vote on whether on first grounds, the meeting should go ahead. To block the meeting, Russia would need support from nine of the 15 members to achieve this feat.
A senior official in the Biden administration said the United States is in regular contact with council members and is “confident” that there is “more than sufficient support” to hold the meeting.
According to a senior official in the Joe Biden administration, the United States is in regular contact with council members and is “confident” that there is “more” than sufficient support” to hold the meeting.
“It goes right to the heart of the role of the Security Council itself,” the senior official said, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak publicly.
“This preventive diplomacy is exactly what the council is supposed to be doing, and I think member states understand that.”
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Russia’s amassing an estimated 100,000 troops near the border with Ukraine has brought increasingly strong warnings from the West that Moscow intends to invade a state that has absolute sovereignty.
Russia’s Demands from the NATO
Russia’s proposal to NATO suggested that the group (NATO) should never allow Ukraine to join the alliance, stop the deployment of NATO weapons near Russian borders and roll back its force from Eastern Europe. But, NATO and the US together, see Russia’s demands as impossible.
Should the meeting go as planned, the council will first hear a briefing by a senior U.N. official followed by statements from its 15 members including Russia, the United States and European members France, Ireland, United Kingdom and Albania. Per the UN Security Council rules, Ukraine will also speak.
China’s U.N. Ambassador, Zhang Jun, whose country has close ties with Russia, indicated Beijing supports Moscow in opposing a council meeting.
“Both sides have shown willingness to continue their negotiations,” he told several reporters on Friday, January 28, 2022. “Let them settle the differences through dialogue, through negotiations.”
“Russia has said clearly they have no intention to have a war” and the Security Council should “help to deescalate the situation instead of adding fuel to the fire,” Zhang said.
The head of Russia’s Security Council, Nikolai Patrushev, on Sunday, January 30, 2022, rejected Western warnings about an invasion.
“At this time, they’re saying that Russia threatens Ukraine… that’s completely ridiculous,” he was quoted as saying by state news agency. “We don’t want war and we don’t need it at all.”
Thomas-Greenfield said of the U.S. and the other council members on Sunday, January 30, 2022, that ”We’re going into the room prepared to listen to them, but we’re not going to be distracted by their propaganda.”
Ireland’s U.N Ambassador, Geraldine Byrne Nason, whose country is serving a two-year term on the council, said “This is a period when we want to see calm.”
Adding that “We want to see de-escalation, diplomacy and dialogue. That’s what we favour in relation to the current set of circumstances.”
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