live blog
Status: 02/23/2022 00:42 a.m
US Secretary of State Blinken will not meet with his Russian counterpart Lavrov for the time being. UN chief Guterres has made it clear that the Russian soldiers in the Ukrainian border area are not impartial peacekeepers. The developments in the live blog.
12:42 a.m
UN chief Guterres: Russian soldiers are not impartial peacekeepers
UN Secretary-General António Guterres has condemned Russia for the escalation in the Ukraine conflict and called for compliance with international law. “When troops from one country enter another country’s territory without its consent, they are not impartial peacekeepers, they are not peacekeepers at all,” Guterres said in a rarely open criticism of a UN veto power. Moscow’s description of military support for the Donetsk and Luhansk regions is a “perversion of the concept of a peace mission.”
In addition, he does not consider the events in eastern Ukraine to be genocide, as expressed by Russian President Vladimir Putin, Guterres said. It is a clearly defined crime. “I don’t think that’s the case.” The Portuguese called for an immediate ceasefire in eastern Ukraine. “The principles of the UN Charter are not an à la carte menu”. The crisis is one of the largest global peace and security crises in recent years and a test for the entire international system.
12:42 a.m
Demian von Osten, ARD studio Moscow, with an assessment of the possible escalation in Ukraine
Demian von Osten, ARD Moscow, with an assessment of the possible escalation in Ukraine
tagesschau24 9 p.m., 22.2.2022
12:42 a.m
US Secretary of State Blinken will not meet with Lavrov
US Secretary of State Blinken said that a meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov just doesn’t make sense after the recent escalations in Russia. That’s why he canceled the meeting planned for Thursday in Geneva. He had already informed Lavrov about this in writing and also coordinated the decision with the western partners of the USA.
Blinken explained that the Russian government had decided to launch an invasion and not to pursue diplomacy. This contradicts the conditions that the USA had placed on the meeting. The US Secretary of State said the US government is still ready for diplomatic talks in the Ukraine crisis. US President Biden had already emphasized this when he announced sanctions against Russia. However, the Russian leadership must show that it is serious about it.