kyiv calls Russia’s presidency of the UN Security Council a ‘shame’ and a ‘bad joke’

The prospect of seeing Russia ensure the rotating presidency of the UN Security Council for a month, starting on Saturday April 1, has aroused strong reactions from the Ukrainian authorities. On Thursday March 30, the head of Ukrainian diplomacy, Dmytro Kouleba, described this presidency on Twitter as “bad joke”. “Russia has usurped its seat, it is waging a colonial war; its president is a war criminal wanted by the ICC [Cour pénale internationale NDLR] for child abduction, he castigated.

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The head of the Ukrainian diplomacy insisted, Saturday April 1st, effective date of the catch of the presidency of the Council by Moscow. “The Russian presidency of the United Nations Security Council is a slap in the face of the international community”, he lamented, calling “current members” of the executive body of the United Nations “to thwart any Russian attempt to abuse its presidency”. On the same day, the chief of staff of the Ukrainian presidency, Andriy Yermak, qualified on Twitter this Russian presidency of “shame”condemning a “another symbolic blow to the rules-based system of international relations”.