‘Give peace a chance. Too many people have already died,’ says Antonio Guterres
WASHINGTON
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres made a direct plea late Wednesday to Russian President Vladimir Putin to not attack Ukraine.
“So, if indeed, an operation is being prepared, I have only one thing to say from the bottom of my heart: President Putin, stop your troops from attacking Ukraine,” said Guterres at a UN Security Council meeting requested by Ukraine.
“Give peace a chance. Too many people have already died,” he added.
UN Under-Secretary General for Political and Peacebuilding Affairs Rosemary DiCarlo, for her part, said everything must be done to ensure that peace prevails.
“We cannot predict exactly what will happen in the coming hours and days in Ukraine. What is clear is the unacceptably high cost in human suffering and destruction of an escalation. The people of Ukraine want peace, and I’m certain the people of Russia want peace,” said DiCarlo.
Earlier, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said he believes that Russia could launch an invasion of Ukraine before the night is over.
Russian President Vladimir Putin announced Monday that Moscow was recognizing the two eastern Ukrainian breakaway regions of Luhansk and Donetsk as “independent” states, followed quickly by sending forces to “maintain peace” there.
The announcement drew widespread global condemnation as violations of the UN Charter and international law, with Western countries announcing new sanctions on Russia.
In 2014, after invading Ukraine’s Crimean Peninsula, Moscow began to support separatist forces in eastern Ukraine against the central government, a policy that it has maintained since then. The conflict has taken more than 13,000 lives, according to the UN.
Putin’s latest moves follow Russia’s amassing of 100,000 troops and heavy equipment in and around its neighbor, with the US and other Western countries accusing it of setting the stage for an invasion.
Russia has denied that it is preparing an invasion and instead claims that the West has undermined its security through NATO’s expansion toward its borders.
